Regrets
by Kodokuchan
Summary: Kagome is trapped on her side of the well and is attacked! Will Inu Yasha be able to save her? IK Chapter 10 is finally here!
1. Regrets1

A/n : I had an idea for a fic. I haven't seen it anywhere else, but if this is similar to anyone else's idea, please forgive me, it was NOT on purpose. This starts after Inu Yasha sends Kagome home and puts the tree in the well so she can't come back.(volume 8) This is in first person as Kagome at the beginning, and later Inu Yasha.  
  
Disclaimer : I want to own Inu Yasha.... but I don't. So, since I'm not selling him... (as if I would if I could anyway) Please don't sue me.   
  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 1  
  
I was fuming. That jerk! He had purposely put me off my guard so he could get the shard and throw me down the well! He always comes and bothers me and I haven't seen him for A week now! I --  
  
"Kagome, are you sure you're okay?" Hojo inquired  
  
AAck! I'm on a date here! "Why would I be..." What- what if his wounds didn't heal?! What if he's dead! I - I've gotta do something, make sure he isn't... dead.  
  
"Hojo, I'm sorry, I need to go home. I'm having a hard time breathing." I lied.  
  
"I understand Kagome. You should go home and rest."  
  
"Thank you Hojo."  
  
I ran out the door. As soon as I got to the shrine, I went to the well. I could feel the presence of a shikon shard. Jumping in, I began clawing at the ground in a vain attempt to get back to the Senkoku Jidai. After a few minutes I was out of breath and no closer to getting back. Climbing out of the well, I sat on the steps and tried to figure out what to do. I was so zoned out that I jumped and yelled when a hand was put on my shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry Kagome! I didn't mean to scare you!" Sota said. "I just wanted to know why you were crying." He gave me a childlike hug.  
  
"I'm crying?" I realized that I was. "I'm sorry Sota, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just discouraged. I needed-" I cut off the rest of my sentence. A few yards behind me, I sensed three shikon shards. Three corrupted shikon shards, and a youkai. Turning so Sota was concealed behind me, I confronted it. There, I saw glowing red eyes and sharp teeth, hidden in a formless cloud. It spoke.  
  
"Child, give me the shard. I sense it. Give it to me, or die."  
  
"Sota, stay away." I stripped my bulky jacket and replied in a voice that was toneless, though I was as scared as I had ever been. "I would rather die than give them to you."  
  
Narrowing its eyes, it replied in a soul chilling tone. "So be it."  
  
The youkai lashed out at me lazily, but that wouldn't work for me, I had seen Inu Yasha fight too many times, and I dodged easily. The youkai looked slightly suprised, as if it had expected me to be an easy target, and was getting a challenge, however slight. Part of the dark cloud surrounding it turned into a tentacle, with razor sharp claws at the end.  
  
"This will be enough to deal with any human, no matter how well they fight, girl." It sneered menacingly. "Do you still defy the Great Youkai Zenshou?"   
  
I made a face at him. "Zenshou? What a wimpy name. I could take a wuss like you any day!" My voice quavered with fear however, and Zenshou heard it. He grinned evilly and advanced on me. Instead of backing up, as he expected, I charged him. *Stupid!* I thought to myself *You don't even have a weapon!* Startled, he swung at me wildly. I was expecting this, but the youkai was faster than I thought and grazed my arm.  
  
At the sight of my own blood, something in me clicked. I remembered the first time I went through the well. I had blasted Mistress Centipede with some kind of weird energy. Allowing myself a small smile, I lunged at Zenshou, arms extended. The world was moving in slow motion. I could feel a small heat in the palms of my hands. When I connected with him, The energy rebelled and exploded. I was thrown back, as was he. He crashed into the doorway, splintering it. Seeing stars, I looked up. That had been stronger then when I had last used it. My powers were growing?  
  
"That was not wise girl." Zenshou threatened. "I was going to allow you a quick death, but injuring me was not wise. You will die slowly." As he recovered, I noticed That the two small wounds on his body were bleeding. The blood dripped to the floor and sizzled. Now I felt only anger and a bit of confidence. *Don't get cocky Kagome,* I warned myself *those are barely scratches to a youkai.* I had recovered my breath and my feet.  
  
"Try me." I grinned ferally. Zenshou's eyes flashed anger. Watching his claws, I didn't even see the tentacle tht grabbed me. Coiling around my arms and chest It lifted me of the ground and started squeezing. I could barely breathe. I felt my ribs crack. Then he stopped squeezing. His hold didn't loosen though, and it was still hard to breathe. I was kicking futilely at nothing. Then I felt his calws caress my cheek. Wincing I knew I now had three shallow cuts on my cheek. Even a light touch of those claws was dangerous. Opening my eyes, he brought me close to him. I could smell his putrid breath and the stench of old blood. I closed my eyes again.  
  
"You shouldn't have showed me your miko powers, girl. Now I have a use for you."  
he purred. "Do you know what the power that I could recieve from your blood? Beg for mercy and I might let you live, for awhile." I managed to get enough breath to speak.  
  
"you.. wish, coward." Enraged, he slashed his claws across my belly. He was careful that it wasn't a killing blow though it hurt alot. I could feel my own blood soaking my clothes.   
  
"Beg, girl. Beg me for mercy. I order you." Blood loss was beginning to make me weak, and I was tired. Drawing in breath, I replied, and he had to listen carfully for my reply.  
  
"I'd... rather die." Snarling, he threw me to the floor, where I landed on my jacket, gasping. He grabbed my shoulder in his teeth and I could feel the flesh ripping. I began to get faint. As I fell into the comforting darkness, I thought: *I'm sorry Inu Yasha, I'm not strong enough.*  
  
* * * *  
  
Minutes later, Sota crawled out of his hiding spot. The front entryway to the shrine was destroyed, and there was blood everywhere, most of it Kagome's. The youkai had let her go after she passed out. Leaving her there, he had searched the hut for the shard. Finding nothing, he snarled and turned to leave, dragging an unconcious Kagome behind. *Why didn't he see me?* Sota thought. He shook his head and decided to get help for Kagome. *I'll get Inu Yasha!*  
  
Sota looked around, and, seeing her jacket, which was wet with blood, grabbed it. Jumping into the well, he pounded at the ground, calling for Inu Yasha. As blood dripped onto the floor of the well, Sota suddenly found himself in a different well, with Shippou.  
  
Shippou woke up and saw Kagome's jacket.   
  
"Oh no! Come on! We've gotta get Inu Yasha!" he yelped. Dragging Sota, he transformed and slipped them past the spirit-wolves.  
  
* * * *  
  
I was fighting with Royakan. Slashing a spirit-wolf, I smelled blood. Human blood. I wondered if that fool Miroku had gotten himself hurt. Glancing, I could see that he was fine. Then where is that smell coming from, I wondered. Kaede-baba was fine. Then I smelled him. Sota, Kagome's little brother. Anxious, I slashed at Royakan, injuring him. Then I turned and saw Shippou and the kid. Dashing towards them, I saw what Shippou was carrying- Kagome's jacket, wet with blood. Her blood. I felt a chill roll down my spine, leaving behind only anger. Behing me, Royakan roared. Turning, I slashed him in two with the tetsusaiga. Miroku turned to look at me, wonderingly. Shippou had reached me, and, gasping, he handed me the jacket. I turned to Miroku. I could tell he was intimidated by the anger I was radiating. I didn't care.  
  
"You'd better finish up Royakan alone. I'm going after Kagome."   
End - Chapter 1  
A/n : OOooh pretty exciting, huh? Don't you wonder what's going on with Kagome? Is she gonna die? Will Inu Yasha get there in time? Will I get rid of this writer's block so that I can write the next chapter? Probably. I'd hope it's soon huh? Anyways. The reason Kagome couldn't go through in my version of the story is because the well needed something more directly magical than just Kagome with her miko's aura. Her blood would have worked great, as Sota luckily found out. 


	2. Regrets2

A/n : I think that I should thank my friend Miss_taken_love (I think that's her screenname ^-^;) for helping me with ideas to continue this fic. All you poor people would have had to wait at least another week if she hadn't. So let's give her a big round of applause! *the crowd roars with appreciation* OK! *hits stop button on tape player & the crowd noise stops* Thanks. If any of you guys have suggestions, feel free to to give them in a review. However, this will not be a lemon/ lime. If I get any suggestions asking for it, those people will be hunted down by Miss_taken_love. (and she'll enjoy it too.... we're crazy, you see.) There will be some fluff though. ^-^ We will start with Inu Yasha's POV.  
  
Disclaimer : I don't own Inu Yasha. However... I do enjoy glomping him! *Inu Yasha looks nervous*  
  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 2  
  
I'm such an idiot! I fumed. How could I have gotten so complacent! I never thought that she'd be in danger, and she can't even get me for help! I growled deep in my throat, ears flattened. She should know better than to try and fight a youkai with shards! I snarled, angry, and heard a whimper. I could've hit myself. * Don't scare the kid to death! * Pasting on a fake grin, I looked at Sota.  
  
"So, tell me what happened. It's okay Sota, we'll save your sister!" I said, trying to cheer him up. Sota looked up at me, teary eyed, lip quivering.  
  
"She was hurt so bad, and there was blood everywhere and it's all my faulllllt!" He began to wail. Cursing the delay, I halted and set him down. I had seen Kagome comforting him once, when he had skinned his knee, and mimicked her actions. Wiping his tears away, I tried to soothe him with words.  
  
"Hey, Sota, it's not your fault. She was just doing what any big sister would do." Heck, I thought, she did what I do all the time for her. I felt a pang of guilt, and her image seemed to have imprinted itself into my vision. Her eyes, wide with fear and anger, her mouth turned down in a stubborn frown. I felt my eyes brimming with unshed tears. Shaking my head to clear it, I put my hands on his shoulders. "Sota, Tell me what happened."  
  
"You'll help her?" Smiling, I nodded. "I thought you were mad with her."I started a bit, and before I could ask why, he continued. "She was in the wellhouse, crying-" I tensed.  
  
"Sota, why was she crying?"  
  
"Well, she doesn't know I know but.. She wanted to see you." I was dumbfounded. *Me? She wanted to see me?* "She was scared cause you hadn't come to get her. She thought you were dead. She was really sad." I felt guilty again, but a small part of me was happy that she was worried about me. Wanted to see me. The only ones who had ever wanted me around were my parents and Kikyo. Sota began speaking again, and I was shaken out of my thoughts. "She was crying and then we started talking. Then she got this really scared look on her face. She told me to get behind her and turned around. When I looked, There was this monster that was big and black, like a raincloud, and it had red eyes, and teeth- "  
he demonstrated how big the monster's teeth were by giving himself fangs with his hands. I might have laughed if I hadn't known Kagome was in danger from those same fangs. "And a tentacle that had claws. I went and hid and they talked for a while. Kagome made fun of him. I went and hid so I could see how Kagome would kick his butt. She was doing really well too! The monster swung at her and she dodged! Then she ran at him and he got scared and tried to swing at her, and that one got her a little bit on the arm."   
He pointed to his arm just below the shoulder. I ground my teeth in anger.  
  
"Then she looked really mad, and ran towards him some more, and she held out her hands and when she touched him, there was this big flash of light, and a boom! When I opened my eyes, Kagome was on the floor, catching her breath, and the monster was bleeding where she had touched him. He didn't look worried though, he was mad! He said things about miko blood and powers and said some mean things. Then Kagome got up and made fun of him some more. Then he got another tentacle and grabbed her with it when she wasn't looking. He squeezed her and she was screaming and kicking and couldn't breathe. He told her to beg for mercy and she said no. Then he got her on the face and tummy with his claws. Then he told her to beg again. I couldn't hear what she said, but it made him really mad and he threw he on the floor. He bit her shoulder and shook her until she stopped moving. I could tell she was still breathing though. then he dropped her and looked around for some shards he said he could sense. Kagome said they were on the other side of the well though, before the fight. When he didn't find 'em, he got mad and dragged Kagome away by the leg."   
  
While Sota had told the story. I had bitten through my lip and my claws were digging into my palms, drawing blood. That freak had hurt Kagome enough to make her go unconcious. He was planning on hurting her more. What's more, to get on a shrine's grounds a youkai that had not been invited needed at least two shards. My Kagome had been fighting with a youkai with at least two shards. That idiot! She should have come here! *She couldn't, I blocked the well* I promised to apologize later to her. This was my fault.  
  
"Let's go Sota," I said, trying not to growl. He had had tears running down his face as he told me what had happened. His sobs had returned, accompananied by hiccups. Grabbing him, I ran the last few yards to the well. There I was confronted with five spirit-wolves.   
  
"Feh!" I snarled. "You really don't want to mess with me right now." Baring my claws, I growled menacingly. The wolves ignored my warning and started to charge me. Just before they got in arm's length, a giant boomerang went through them, tearing them to shreds. Starled, I leaped back a few feet. As the giant weapon completed it's arc, it was caught by a girl not much bigger than Kagome. They were probably the same age. Trying to get her scent, I noticed that though she reeked of demon's blood, she was completely human.  
  
"Inu Yasha?" she called.  
  
"Yeah, that's me. But you'll have to take a number, I'm busy now." Putting Sota down momentarily, I pulled the tree from the well. Suddenly, that gigantic boomerang was headed right at me. I threw the tree at it. That deflected it back at her. She caught it neatly. The tree fell to the ground in two peices. Glaring at her, I yelled, "What the heck do you think you are doing, woman!"   
  
"Sorry," she commented coldly, "but I'm here to kill you."  
  
* * * *  
(A/n : This is Miroku's POV!)  
  
"Good gods," Kaede commented, as she picked the shard from Royakan's corpse. "He sliced Royakan in twain with a single stroke of his blade!"  
  
Finishing the prayer over Royakan's body, I frowned. If that had truly been Lady Kagome's jacket, she would likely be dead or dying by the time Inu Yasha got to her. I cursed, though I shouldn't have, and Kaede gave me a sharp look. I told her my reason for cursing and she cursed as well. Walking away from the corpse, I felt as useless as I had in years. I wished that I had the power to go down that well. I knew it was useless though, as I had tried before.   
  
A fond smile came to my face as I remebered why I tried. Lady Kagome had described a certain article of clothing from her time: a bikini. When Inu Yasha had finished his sputtering, I had inquired as to whether or not she had one. This resulted in a large amount of pain, as Inu Yasha hit me on the head and Kagome had thrown a shoe at my face. After asking where I could find a young lady wearing such apparel, and earning another shoe in the face, she commented that they were worn while swimming. Later that evening I had tried to go down the well, resulting in failure.  
  
Returning to the sad thought of Lady Kagome's injuries, I wished that the foul thing that had done this to her would be punished by Buddha.   
  
Kaede had noticed the painful expression on my face. Placing a hand on my shoulder, She said:   
"Inu Yasha will not let her die. Come, let us get our minds off this sad subject. We have work to be done."  
  
* * * *  
  
End  
Chapter 2  
A/n : I'm soo evil, I know. But it's 1:30 in the morning. And I can't think of anything else to write. I know some people think that Miroku is only a lech, but I know that a lot of the time he does these things not only so he can grope women, but to get their minds off of the sad things they're thinking. I'm not saying he isn't a lech, but I think that he's basically good at heart. Also, I had to bring Sango in, though her story will be slightly different. And nooooo you will not know what is happening to poor Kagome...... EVER! Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Well, 


	3. Regrets3

A/n : This is the third chapter of the story... It's all going soo fast. And I only had 6 reviews last I checked. *sob* Noone's reading my story. Hey, if you have friends on fanfiction.net that you think might like this, please tell them to read and review; 'cause it makes me more motivated to write! ^-^ It's called blackmail, folks..... j/k! Even if it's a one word review. It makes me so happy. I squealed when I saw the first reviews! Isn't that embarrassing? Thanks so much to those first five reviewers... I'm not good with names... ArtemisMoon I believe was one of them. Sorry to all the rest of you! To answer one question, yes it will be a happy ending.... (I can't bear to write a fic with a sad one, I'm just as sappy as you!) eventually. There will be some sad parts in between the beginning and the end though. Or maybe I'll overcome my sappiness and..... be evil. Muahahaha! Inu Yasha' POV first.  
  
Disclaimer : No matter what I say while on medication.... Inu Yasha is not mine. (Or off of meds for that matter.)  
  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Wha-?" I was shocked to say the least. A girl I had not ever seen nor met was challenging me, now of all times. It was infuriating. "I don't have the time to deal with you now, woman!" Turning to go get Sota, I heard that giant boomerang head towards me. On the path it was now, it would hit Sota! Cursing the woman in all her foolishness, I drew tetsusaiga and jumped into the path of the weapon. Out of the corner of my eye I sould see that she was suprised that I would put myself in the line of danger for a human child. The transformed blade met with the boomerang with a loud clash, and I was being pushed back by the force which the weapon produced.   
  
"Call off your weapon! You'll hurt the boy!" I could tell that the thing was spelled to complete it's arc unless called off. This was why it did not bounce off the blade as I had expected. "Sota!" I called. the boy had frozen in fear. "Move Sota!" Shocked out of his paralysis, he ran towards the well. When he was out of the way, I let it slide off the blade. It went off it's original track, and upwards. The girl was looking at me as if I had just kissed her. (A/n : I would have said grown a third arm, but that's possible with youkai. :D )   
  
"Why didn't you leave him and save yourself first?" She seemed as if she didn't know what to do now. Suddenly, I noticed Sota running up to her. I started towards him, intending to get him away from her. As she noticed me coming, though, she ran up to Sota and grabbed him protectively, as if I was coming to kill him. What she said next confirmed that thought. "You touch one hair on this boy's head Inu Yasha, and I swear you'll regret it for the rest of your short, painful life." However, Sota shocked her out of completing that thought.  
  
"Don't you dare hurt Inu Yasha!" He pounded on her with balled fists. startled, she put him down and grabbed his shoulders.  
  
"You're not running from him?" Sota looked at her as if she was crazy.   
  
"OF COURSE NOT!" he cried, exasperated. "Inu Yasha is a hero! He's gonna save my sister from the monster! We have to go!" He began to cry again. "Otherwise, it'll be all my fault that shes dead!"  
  
Looking from Sota to me, the girl must have seen the desperation in my face as I thought of how badly my Kagome was injured. She brought Sota over and placed him in my arms. As he sobbed into my clothing, I tried to comfort him as I had seen Kagome do before. I put an awkward hand on his back and murmured that everything would be alright. Though I felt uncomfortable doing so, it seemed the right thing to do. The girl looking at me with confused eyes, stated:  
  
"Take him home and save his sister. He reminds me of my own little brother." Her eyes hardened again. "When you come back, however, you'd better find Sango - that's me - of the Western demon exterminating tribe. If I don't see you within a month, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth."  
  
Solemnly, I nodded. Then, I did something I think would've given her a heart attack had she not seen Sota's reaction to me. I thanked her.  
Turning, she picked up her boomerang and walked into the forest.   
  
Looking at her retreating back I thought I saw a Saimyoshou, but dismissed it when I saw no more movement. Holding Sota, I jumped into the well. *I'm coming, Kagome.*  
  
* * * *  
(Sango's POV)  
  
None of what I had seen Inu Yasha do fitted the report I had been given. He was supposed to be a heartless murderer! He was responsible for the organized decimation of 14 villages. Or was he? The way that Sota had worshipped him. She could see the hope in the child's eyes as he spoke of saving his sister. For his sake, at least, I hope she's safe. What about Inu Yasha? The look in his eyes as Sota had spoken of his sister was desperate, pleading me to let him go. In a way, it frightened me. Youkai weren't supposed to care about humans. Even half youkai were heartless, as far as she knew. But... those eyes.  
  
"I wish..." I cut off the words, but the thought continued on it's own.  
*I wish that someone would worry about me like that.* I could feel the hurt welling up inside of me. Pushing my feelings back viciously, I bit my lip in frustration. *Get ahold of yourself Sango!*  
  
I thought of my employer. Why would he have any reason to lie to me? I had seen the decimated villages. He surely wouldn't destroy them himself. A young lord like that needed all the support he could get. *Then why were you so anxious around him?* The thought was chilling. The reason I was the best hunter in the village was because of my 'sixth sense'. I had a sort of gut instinct that told me when I was in danger. Thinking, I recalled that I hadn't felt nervous at all around the hanyou. That young lord had given me the chills though. thinking back, I recalled our first meeting. He had summoned the top fighters in the village to go after several strong demons that had been terrorizing his lands.  
  
If it had been a trap, wouldn't it have been wiser to just spring it when they had been in unfamiliar territory and not expecting an attack?   
When I thought, though, it made an eerie kind of sense. Seperate the strongest warriors, with no hope of them getting to one another to help. Single fighters went down alot easier than in a group.  
  
Nervous now, I started when I saw kirara. I had sent her with Kohaku. This would be his first hunt. Kirara came up to me and meowed piteously. I got chills.  
  
Then, they attacked.  
  
* * * *  
(Kagome's POV)  
  
Wearily, I opened my eyes. I felt like I had been through a meat grinder. And I had had the strangest dream... what had it been about?   
Inu Yasha.... but all I remebered was that Sota had been with him, and he was coming to save me. *From what?* I thought tiredly.   
  
My eyes adjusted to the gloom around me, and I remembered. Zenshou. He was there. But something was different. He was in a human form. I squinted to try and see, but I had to move my head a little, and the wound in my neck screamed, and reopened, bleeding sluggishly. I moaned.  
Hearing my moan, Zenshou cackled.  
  
"Awake are we?" His voice was somehow familiar. It wasn't the same voice I had heard when I had been fighting him. "It's time we began, my little jewel..." He sounded menacing. "You're going to make me rich, and powerful." My eyes were tired, so I closed them again. I didn't want to see his face, for some reason.  
  
"Zenshou. You loser," I croaked. It hurt to talk. "Why don't you just kill me and get it over with." I filled my voice with contempt and anger, to hide the small thread of fear that was creeping down my spine. I wasn't afraid of his normal form anymore, but I was scared now. My wounds were closing supernaturally fast for a human though, I noticed now. Almost like Inu Yasha. still, it would probably take at least a few weeks for me to recover entirely. Was it because my miko powers had awakened?  
  
"Oh no, sweetling," He purred, his voice filled with as much contempt as mine had. "You're not going to die. Not for a long time." I began to try and move and pain shot through me again. Gasping I registered the fact that I had manacles on my hands. Some kind of restriction on my ankles too. "You see, darling? I'm going to take everything I can from you that will be of use to me. And in between, I'll torture you. But since you dared to injure me during our little scuffle, I'd like to start with the torture." The smugness in his voice made me want to vomit.  
  
"Yeah, right. If you do too much more injury to me, you know I'll die."  
I scoffed, and was reminded of Inu Yasha. "I thought you were smarter than that."  
  
"You can't be that naive, can you?" His tone was mocking, and again I felt like I should know that voice. "Not all torture is physical. The torture I'm going to give you, will be from your own head."  
  
"What the heck are you talking about."  
  
"While you were out, I took the liberty of rifling through your memories. I know you better than you know yourself Kagome. I can do things to your mind that will make you insane." I heard that smug tone again. Opening my eyes, I finally saw his face. A face that I hadn't seen since I was seven, and I whimpered in fear.  
  
"Shall we begin?" my father asked.  
  
End  
Chapter 3  
  
A/n : I am soooo terible, aren't I? My friend says I scare her sometimes, when I get into an 'evil' mood. Please don't kill me though.  
I think that this is a longer chapter, and I know that you all wanted a long chapter. Just to reassure you, I usually write long chapters. I was a little uncomfortable releasing the first two because they were so short. they will get longer as we go. Another thing you are probably wondering. Where is the romance part of the story? It's coming.....  
Chapter four will be really cool! 


	4. Regrets4

A/n : I know I always put stuff at the beginning... but I can't think of anything... Oh yeah! In the third chap., putting Zenshou in Kagome's father's form was a suprise to me too! ^-^; As I started that section, I was gonna have him be Miroku... I dunno. Then my evil side took over and I ended up putting in her dad. I'll have to write a side story now..... Though I will explain a bit why Kagome was/is so afraid. And, I'm afraid, that I should put this as an angst fic... what do you think? (I didn't originally because I'm not sure what angst means...) Anyways.... I definitely will have to if my evil side takes over any more... which it will. I have multiple personalities!! O.O; I think that that's normal, right? Miroku's POV!  
  
Disclaimer : Let's flip a coin! Heads, I own Inu Yasha, tails, you don't. *flips it into the air and a lawyer catches it, glaring* Well, I can always wish, can't I?  
  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 4  
  
As I am walking back towards the village, I ponder what to do about Lady Kagome. The medical facilities in her time are wonderous, so if Inu Yasha manages to reach her in time, that would be the best place to take her. I can't help much with that field of my studies. If she needs some emotional healing, however, the best place to be was among familiar surroundings. I hate to admit it, but she spends more time here than in her normal world.   
  
Thinking of her world set me off on an entirely different track of thinking. I had pondered this many times before, but it never seemed real to me - Kagome's time. The marvels she spoke of. And she knew what had happened - would happen - even ten or a hundred years from now. It was in her texts. History. A time noone alive can remember. But I'm alive now, and living in that time she would call the past. Does this mean that all times in the world existed simultaneously? The days in her time corresponded exactly with ours. It seemed as though time was a thing with rules that were easily bent, or broken.Can two times exist at once? Perhaps, when Lady Kagome is gone from her time, it ceases to exist. Then it starts up as it would have gone if she had been there, but she hadn't?   
  
Laughing at myself, I realized that I had enough ponderous thoughts in my life already, without questioning time. Kaede looked at me sharply when I laughed. I could tell that Lady Kagome meant much to her as a reincarnation of her sister. That she was in danger put even more lines into her already aged face. Could she bear to lose Kagome? Could I? I stopped. Had I never realized what Lady Kagome did for me, for all of us? She had become a very dear friend to me. I realized that it was she who worried over all of us. I sometimes heard her at night, murmuring in her sleep, saying our names, and knew she was having a nightmare. She was the one who kept me going when I felt as though I should let the curse just kill me. She gave me a feeling of hope and peace that even, I, as a monk had never felt. Yet, somehow though I loved her, it was not a romantic love. I respected her too greatly for that.   
  
Thinking of love lead me to thoughts of depressing nature. Thoughts of the past. I could see the pain in my mother's eyes as she told me of mine and my father's fate as a child. I saw her devestated, sobbing form as she learned of my father's death. And her form, wasted and pale on the funeral pyre a few months after my father's death. Dead from the loss of my father. I gazed at my cursed hand. Could I put a woman through that? I had decided numerous times that I would never fall in love. But I saw the face of Kagome every time when Inu Yasha smiled at her, whenever he had been talking to Kikyo, whenever he protected her and came away injured, and changed my mind every time. Perhaps that was what love was about. Sacrifice and redemption.  
  
I was started out of my thoughts as I saw a group of saimyoshou fly over the forest. I could tell that they were up to something terrible. A pit formed in my stomach as I sensed the amount of evil energy they were flying towards. From the amount, I could tell that there were at least one hundred youkai in a small area. What were they doing? Staring at the forest, I decided to investigate, but Kaede caught at my sleeve.   
  
"I've sensed that energy as well, but going in there is suicide and you know it. Even with your Air rip. We must barricade the village against an attack." She stated this firmly and clearly, in a tone that gave one little choice but to obey. Then I noticed that the youkai started attacking something. I heard the battlecry of a young woman. Startled, Kaede let go of my sleeve.  
  
"Take care of the village yourself. I cannot leave that young woman to be slaughtered." I said, and ran into the darkening forest.  
  
* * * *  
  
Sango's POV  
  
As youkai jump out from around me, I pull Hiraikotsu off my back. I know that I'm severly outnumbered, but I'm also trapped. Kirara transforms, but I can see that she's tired from an earlier battle. With Kohaku? Is he alright? Maybe he sent Kirara to check on me. I can feel the thoughts and worries drain out of my head as I relax into a battle stance. I grin wickedly, feeling the enegy course though my body. The youkai are poised to attack. Why aren't they?   
  
This must be the trap, I think. The one that that young lord set. What had his name been? Naraku. I try to remember where his castle was, so I can repay him when I'm done, but I can't seem to recall. *He must have used a spell.* The youkai seem to be waiting for something, some signal. I hear a rustling and a swarm of wasp youkai come and drop something in front of me. A chain sickle. It's bloodied and broken. I feel the rage building up inside of me. I remember my father always said : 'Don't fight with anger. It's bound to make you reckless.' I decide to deal with my anger later, and then as the wasp youkai pull back, the others attack.  
  
Screaming a wordless cry of defiance, I throw my Hiraikotsu into the fray. Kirara, behind me tears apart demons as they get within range. Hiaraikotsu, taking out the demons that were unlucky enough to be in it's path, arced back to me. I notice that my main weapon will not be of much use in such close quarters. I caught it, and used it to clear the area in front of me by swinging it like a blade. Given a bit of free time, I drop Hiaraikotsu and begin to pull out my sword. A demon, who must have ducked hiraikotsu, suprises me by tackling me to the ground and begins to tear at me with it's claws and teeth. Cursing, I pull out my sword and slice through it. I have lacerations up my arm and side and I begin to feel the burning pain of poison. More demons are literally on top of me, but I slash through them, atttempting to get to my feet. I know that staying down will be a fatal mistake, but there are so many of them! They continue piling on top of me, so I can barely swing my blade. I feel the demon's blood dripping onto me, becoming like acid on my many wounds.  
  
As their claws rip at me, I feel weak, and know that I am passing out. I am going to die. As I swing wildly, my sword misses more often and it slips from my numb fingers. My thoughts become muddled. *It all happened so fast.* I hear Kirara fighting to pull the demons off of me and smile. *She's always so loyal, she can't die.* I weakly order her to leave. I hear her despair, and she obediently flies into the trees, knowing that it is hopeless.  
  
I am wondering why these demons didn't just kill me instantly, when suddenly I feel a great wind, and the demons are ripped from my body. Then I too am sucked towards the source of the wind. It stops and I fall into someone's arms. A person? Opening my eyes with a great effort, I see a kind face. I smile a little at him, happy not to have been eaten by demons.  
  
"It will be alright." I hear his kind and calming voice. Kirara comes over in her small form, and nudges at my hand. "I promise it will be alright." I nod, smiling weakly, and then the darkness comes.  
  
* * * *  
  
Miroku (again)  
  
As I arrive, I see the multitude of demons swarming over something, most likely the girl. A firecat demon is tearing at the rest, obviously trying to rescue the girl. I begin to unleash the void, but pause. I cannot suck that firecat into the void! It would not be right. Debating, I see the cat finally give up, howling in anguish. It retreats into the trees. Grinning, I finish taking the rosary from my hand.   
  
As the demons are sucked into the void, I begin to realize just how many demons this girl has slain. For every one that is alive that is sucked into oblivion, there are two dead. Granted, some the firecat had slain, but still... this girl must be a professional. The last of the demons have been sucked up, and the girl's prone form flies into my arms as I seal the void.  
  
I am suprised at the extent of her injuries. She has many deep wounds, but it was obvious that these demons had been ordered to make her suffer. She looks up at me, and thoughthe rest of her is bloodied and torn, her face has few marks. Her eyes seem to be going in and out of focus, implying poison. She smiles at me and I realize how pretty she is. My heart beats a little faster. Wanting suddenly to reassure and protect this girl, I find words.  
  
"It will be alright." I say, and the firecat, who is now the size of a normal cat, nudges her hand, meowing pieously. Looking again at her injuries, I swallow. "I promise it will be alright." I wonder if I'm trying to reassure myself as well. She smiles again, faintly, and nods. Smiling in return, I feel my heart skip a beat as she goes limp. *You can't die!* I feel for a pulse. I find one, and I breathe again, though I had not realized I had been holding my breath.   
  
Picking her up. I see the cat has transformed itself again, and dragged over a few weapons, a chain sickle, a large boomerang and a sword. The sword I put in the sheath on the girl's side. Pondering for a moment, I strap the boomerang and sickle to my back, wrapping the sickle's blade so it will not cut me. I put the girl on the firecat and climb on behind, holding her around the waist so she will not fall. Pointing the animal in the right direction, we take off. As we fly, I notice the warm feeling I get when holding her close. It's strange, I have never had this feeling before. I also notice that my clothes are getting wet with blood. Cursing in a most un-monk like way, I urge the poor animal faster. Noticing that the cat's sides are dernched with sweat, I feel bad. I should have realized that the poor thing was exhausted. I promise myself that I will repay it when I next have time.  
  
We come down in the village, and suddenly, I find myself at the business end of a few spears. The villagers certainly are prepared. They notice that they know me, and mumble apologies, shuffling off. Kaede comes forward and notices the girl. Taking her, without a word, she heads off to her hut. I follow, but she does not let me come in.  
  
"If you want to help Miroku, boil some more water, find clean rags and gather more herbs. I will not sully her privacy, even as wounded as she is." I begin to yell at her filled with rage, but stop. Why am I so mad? A bit dazed, I wander off and get some water from the river. Borrowing a pot from one of the villagers, I light a fire and put the water on to boil. I drop a few rags in as well, so that they will be purified as well. Leaving a few children to mind the fire, I wander a bit.  
  
Remembering, I go off to find the firecat. It's in it's small form, in a heap where I left it. I see it, panting, and gather it up into my arms. I collect a blanket and some more rags and head toward the river. Walking to the place designated for men's bathing, I take off my clothing and wade into the water. I take the little cat and rinse it off, though it makes weak protests. Once the cat has had all the sweat rinsed off, I take it to the shore, dry it off, give it a drink and wrap it in the blanket. Smiling as it falls asleep, I gather my own clothes. I see the blood on them and am angry again. Who had this girl been that Naraku would try to kill her? I vow to get revenge for her. I rinse my clothes off, and lie in the sun-warmed grass, waiting for them to dry. As my eyelids droop I realize that I am more tired than I had thought. Watching the sun set, I drift off to sleep.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kagome - Flashback  
  
I am five. There is a knock on the door. Running to the door I open it. Seeing who is there, I turn to run, calling for my mother. However, I am tripped. I fall on my face and my father laughs, holding my ankle. I hear my mom coming and I start to worry. *No, mommy, run!*   
  
"Let her be.. Please, Michio!" My mother catches at his arm, pleading.  
  
"Shizuka! You will do as I say!" He throws her back against the wall. "Both of you, worthless! You - girl!" He hauls me up by the shirt, and I can smell the alcohol on his breath. He was worse when he was drunk. "I'm hungry. Make me some food!" He throws me to the floor, hard.  
  
Retreating, I crawl towards the kitchen.  
  
- Two months later -  
  
My father got in again somehow. He isn't supposed to have a key. He is supposed to stay away from us. But nobody ever enforces it. They're all too afraid of him. Momma won't tell, because she's afraid he'll really hurt me. He hasn't ever really hurt me bad. He does hurt momma though. It scares me.  
  
Though, I still try to like him, and make him happy. He's the only daddy I've got. But it never works. Whenever he comes, I have to sleep in the kitchen, on the floor. He says that I'm too useless to be taking up space like that. Then he gets up in the morning and wakes me, and I make his breakfast. He throws it at me.   
  
"Practice some more! Maybe if you learned to actually do something, people would think you're worth something." He says. I try to sneak out, but he sees me. Smiling, he yanks me back into the room. "You think you're so smart don't you! You think you can get away with everything. I your mother spoils you rotten, you little brat. That's why I have to teach her a lesson. And it's your fault."  
  
- Two years and three weeks later -  
  
I see the police cars pull up to the house. A policewoman gets out, and walks slowly to our door. I go get my mother and hear the knock on our door. As she goes to the door. I follow. She doesn't see me, I'm very good at being quiet. Daddy had me practice. He always said I was too loud and woke him up. I hear the police officer.   
  
"Mrs. Shizuka Higurashi?" My mother nods, and I wonder why the lady even asked. She already knew the answer. "Your husband, Michio, was apprehended in a robbery. When he was bieng handcuffed, he assaulted the officer and stole his gun. While I can't tell you many more details, your husband was shot as he held an officer hostage." My mother doesn't move, doesn't say a word. The woman tries to console her, but I'm not sure mommy is sad. After a while, she gives her a number to call and leaves.  
  
Mommy may not be sad, but for some reason, I was. I feel the tears running down my face. I could never do anything right. I never got him to like me. I would never see my daddy again. I had lost him on my eighth birthday.  
  
  
End   
  
  
Chapter four  
  
  
  
A/n : Ok, I didn't really want this to be the end of this chapter, but I feel so bad. I haven't had much time to write at all. You see I am preparing to move. My father got a job in Oregon. So, I really will try to update as much as possible, but Like this past week, I may not get all I want done. 


	5. Regrets5

A/n : Well, here's to hoping that I don't get writer's block! I have been, lately. It's sooooo frustrating! I'm sure that all you writers out there know what I mean. Maybe I should just whack my head on the wall 'til I come up with something.... *goes and hits her head against the wall.* @-@ I still can't come up with anything! T.T Oh, by the way. The reason I have writer's block is because I know what's going to happen. Confusing? Not really. I really should just ask my friend. She knows what's happening next too. Ahhh! She won't be home for anther two hours though! Miss_taken_love.... come home! You have to help me write! T.T Inu Yasha's POV.  
  
  
Disclaimer : *Inu Yasha is in a cage in the background.* I have captured him! He will belong to me forever! *Turns and sees the cage is mangled and broken, with no Inu Yasha inside* Oh, well. He didn't really belong to me anyways. ~weep~  
  
  
Regrets   
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
As I landed on the floor of the well in Kagome's time, I smelled the air, filled with the scent of Kagome's blood. My blood boiled. Climbing out, I saw the extent of the blood that was on the floor. She had lost so much blood, was she still alive? A thread of fear wormed it's way into my heart. I would get the one who did this to her, and he would wish he was never born. Walking out of the wellhouse, away from her blood, I set Sota down.   
  
"Sota," I said. "You have to stay here." He looked up at me and I knew he wanted to help. "Sota, the best thing you could do for Kagome right now is stay here and pray that she'll be ok." Shaking his head, he began to cry again.  
  
"She's fine! Kagome is always healthy! She will come home and be my sister again!" He looked up at me. "She will make it."  
  
"Yeah, Sota. She's too stubborn to die." I smiled at him. "But I need you to stay here. You can pray that I kick that monster's butt." The smile on my face was being plagued by the doubt and worry I felt. "I've gotta go rescue her now." Sota looked at me and nodded. Turning, I inhaled deeply. I could smell the trail of Kagome's blood. Bounding off, I prayed that she really would be alright.  
  
* * * *  
  
Zenshou's POV  
  
Smiling, I turned from the girl. I had just opened an emotional wound that was years old. She had blocked the pain from it long ago. But now, she felt everything she had experienced as a child again. I inhaled, and I could smell the fear that was controlling her now. The pain of the child filled me with power, and I knew that it would only get better. Behind me, the girl shook with silent sobs, and curled into a ball.  
  
She was such a trusting girl, this Kagome. As I had reviewed her memories, I had come over some recent ones that confused me. She seemed to be living a life in two times. That well... That had been the key. Every time she jumped in it she was transported to feudal Japan. And that boy... Inu Yasha. I planned to take his form when the memories of her father began to lose potency. I could kill her by taking that form. She would die from emotional turmoil. I began to plan the next round of torture when I noticed that the girl's fear was beginning to ebb. Turning, I saw that she was beginning to break free of the memories.  
  
"How?!" I exclaimed. Then I noticed that her wounds had reopened. She was in so much physical pain that the memories could not hold her. What had happened to her miko healing powers? It was rumored that they could heal at one-fourth the rate of a demon. I pondered for a moment. Was it possible that she was untrained? Last time I checked her memories, I had only searched for important events in her life. Looking, again, I saw that she was indeed untrained. I cursed thouroughly. Her blood would barely raise me above the power a normal human's could. Unless I sacrificed her quickly, she would do me little good.  
  
As I gathered the necessary elements for the sacrifice, I noticed a demon's prescence entering my territory. I went to my mirror and looked for it. It was that forsaken Inu Yasha! He had come to rescue his woman. I hissed in frustration. At the rate he was going, he would get here at the crucial stage of the ceremony. Looking at the girl, I began to form a plan. Hanyou blood would do well to raise my power.   
  
To make this work, however, the girl could not be allowed to fight me. With a miko's soul, she would repel every spell that I could muster, whether she meant to or not. Well, that is easily remedied. Walking calmly over, I look down scornfully.  
  
"This would not have had to happen if you weren't so stupid as to be untrained." She looked up at me, glaring. "Awake are we? That could be quite amusing. Did you know your little dog friend is coming for you?" Her eyes register shock. "You will not to be able to speak. My pain web will be filled to the brim when he sees you die. After that, I'll kill him and harvest the power his blood will bring. But you will be the one thatreally kills him Kagome." I look back at my mirror. He's close. Time for phase one. Changing shape, I hide behind her. Her eyes are filled with fear and pain. Now I can hear his voice calling to her.  
  
Then, the door is broken down and he walks in. Seeing her, he is relieved. It's obvious he thought that she was surely dead. She struggles, trying to tell him where I am. He walks towards her, wary of each shadow. He reaches her, and cradles her in his arms as she struggles to communicate the danger.  
  
"Kagome, you're alive." He looks at her wounds. "Where is he? I'll rip him to shreds." He growls. "Why can't I smell him?" He looks around, and sets her down gently. He draws his sword.   
  
Time to act. While he is facing away, I morph again, and grab Kagome by her neck, holding her above the floor. Then I call to him. He turns, and stares in horror.  
  
* * * *  
  
Inu Yasha  
  
"Inu Yasha." Kagome calls.  
  
Turning, I freeze, shocked. There are two Kagomes? My mind is not working. One of them is holding the other up by the neck. Kagome wouldn't do that. I realize that the one that is uninjured must be the youkai. I begin to attack, but the youkai uses Kagome as a shield. I freeze, cursing.  
  
"No, no, Inu Yasha. You wouldn't want to hurt poor little Kagome here, would you?" It grins evilly. "Besides, I need something from her." I growl, taking a step towards Kagome. "Kagome knows what I want, now doesn't she?" Kagome's eyes are filled with tears and her eyes plead with me. She makes a futile effort to get free, but her hands and feet are chained. As she struggles, I see her face pale as her wounds tear. The Youkai clicks it's tongue. "Now, you'll give me what I want." Then, she goes limp. The youkai cradles her in it's arms.  
  
"What did you do to her!" I snarled. The youkai looks at me.  
  
"Why, nothing." It sets Kagome down and she stands there, looking down at the ground. "See she's perfectly fine." I look again. All her wounds have vanished. Confused, I watch as the youkai lets Kagome go. She walks towards me. As soon as she starts moving I rush to get her away from the monster, who is still wearing Kagome's form. I grab her and dash away from the youkai. I look down at her.  
  
"Are you ok?" She looks up, and I stop dead in my tracks. Her eyes. They're empty. Normally, they sparkle with life and emotion, but now they are dull and dead. I swallow nervously. "Kagome..?" I question her, but she doesn't respond. "Kagome!" I turn and glare at the youkai. "What. Did. You. DO!" I demand. The youkai holds up a glowing sphere of light.  
  
"Oh. I took her soul." The youkai sneered. "Now then." It frowned. "We haven't been properly introduced. I am Zenshou. I am the greatest youkai in this city. I have gathered three of the rare shikon shards and have stolen a miko's soul." He pondered a bit. "What to do with it? I can't use such a pure soul. It isn't even corrupted the tiniest bit." He brightened. "I know! I'll send it to Hell." With that, her soul dissapeared.  
  
"Kagome?" I question the girl in front of me. I fell empty, like a piece of me is missing.  
  
"It is only my spell that animates her now! What you are talking to is no more than a worthless shell." Zenshou sneers. That sneer doesn't look right on Kagome's gentle face. I suddenly get the urge to kill this phony, this - imposter that killed my Kagome.  
  
"You will die for that." The anger fills me, and I revel in the felling, so different from the emptiness that was just consuming me. My hand tightens on tetsusaiga's hilt. This anger, it fills me with a power that I have never known but a glimpse of. I remember all the times that I thought Kagome was going to get hurt. It's the same feeling, only much, much stronger. "And I will get Kagome back. If I have to go to Hell to find her, I will. But first you die." I set Kagome's body down gently. I touch her cheek and cringe at the feeling of coldness that lies there. *I'm so sorry Kagome. I wasn't fast enough.* Turning, I look at Zenshou, and he starts a bit at the expression on my face.  
  
"So, you're mad." He tries to sound smug, but I can detect the bit of suprise in his tone. "That's good. It means more fun for me." His form becomes black, and I watch as he transforms into a battle-form. I smirk, and growl deep in my throat.  
  
"Die."  
  
****  
  
Kikyo  
  
As I stand at the lake's edge, my Shinidama-chuu bring me the souls of the dead. They fill this body with power and energy. Even though I live on in this body, I despise it. I had no wish to come back from the dead. But the part of the soul that I have within me will not let me perish until I have fulfilled the duty that it desires. The death of the hated Inu Yasha. I inhale the air, feeling the breeze whip around me. I recall the events of this afternoon.   
  
That monk. Why did he have to come now? I might have been able to do some good here. Now I will have to leave. My soul had begun to be able to love again. Those children, so innocent. I pray to all the gods in heaven that they will not experience heartbreak like I have. Then, I hear a person behind me.  
  
"Can you find no rest in death?" The monk again. I sigh inwardly. "You are dead, are you not, my lady?" I know what must come next and begin to dread it.  
  
"Can you not overlook my presence?"  
  
"I cannot!" He pulls out a crystal ball with a dragon figure wrapped around. Activating it, he has a large dragon-spirit wrap around me. "You cannot escape from this soul-bond! I shall lay you to rest!" I struggle a bit within the spirit's grip. "Sleep now! Find peace!" He does no know how much part of me wishes for peace. "I shall save your soul!" I hear the word soul, and it enrages me. I have no soul. If he cannot see that, then he is less of a monk than I believed at first. I will show him where the peace lies.  
  
"Save.. my soul, you say...?" My eyes narrow. "A little monk... like you... is going to save MY soul!" I rip the dragon spirit apart, sending one of its deadly claws in his direction. However he is faster than I reckoned, and his unfortunate apprentice is killed in his stead. He looks at me, dumbfounded as to how I could have escaped his soul-bond. "I don't really have a soul, monk." I say mockingly. "And I will gladly leave this world when my task is accomplished. However. You seem intent on getting in my way, so... I fear you must die."  
  
I attack him, taking him by suprise. He did not think that I would be that fast apparently. A fatal mistake. He is expecting a weapon. Fool again. I lash out with my hand, touching a point on his chest that stops his heart. He staggers backwards, clutching at his heart. He trips over the body of his apprentice. I look down on him coldly as he thrashes and dies. For some reason, the part of my soul that had started loving again is paralyzed. Could it be because I killed this man?  
  
As I ponder, the dead souls are suddenly sucked from me. Collapsing, I realize that the main part of my soul is being sent to hell. If I do not act quickly, my part of the soul will go as well, leaving this body nothing but a pile of earth. Wait. If I did this right, I could give up this sham body and return to a living one! I capture the plunging soul and go to join it.  
  
The body crumbles into dust. A scared, confused little girl comes out from hiding.  
  
"Lady Kikyo?"  
  
****  
  
Kagome  
  
I am looking at Inu Yasha, when suddenly I feel a terrible wrench, and I am no longer in my body. I am trying to get my bearings. I am free of all that pain, but, where is Inu Yasha? Wasn't he going to save me? I begin to become afraid. What if I never see him again? I curl up into myself and begin to cry.  
  
Then I begin to fall. I am headed somewhere. But I am not supposed to go. I know this, because everything about this feels wrong. Especially this place that I am headed to. The wrongness of it makes me nauseous. I can feel the corrupt nature of it burn all the way through me. I try to fight the current sending me there. A searing pain goes through me and I cry out. I am paralyzed for a few seconds.  
  
I don't know what to do. *Help me!* I cry out silently. Suddenly, I am dragged painfully from the curent sending me to the bad place. I land, seeing stars. I push myself up slowly. Finally I am sitting up, but my world is still spinning. How I know that it's spinning I'm not sure, because everything around me is the same shade of grey. I put my head in my hands. Then I realize that Until just a moment ago, I had no body. I look around, scared again. Was I dead? Was that place I had been headed towards hell? What had I done to deserve going there? I hear the mocking voice of my father, only all too recent in my memories.  
  
'You didn't need to do anything special. That's where they send worthless people like you girl. You'll go there eventually. And do you know why? Because you're a useless, ugly, good- for-nothing! You always will be!' I begin to shake, afraid that his comments are true. Why would a father say those things unless he meant them? Then a voice comes that chills me through, and I freeze, Afraid that if I move I'll burst apart from all the hurt that voice invokes.  
  
'Of course you're good for something! Shard detecting!' Inu Yasha?! 'You're just a cheap copy of Kikyo, only good for shard detecting. I have to protect your worthless hide all the time. What an idiot, thinking that I actually wanted you around. Why do you think that I sent you to your own time? So I could be aone with Kikyo, a real woman.' I choke down sobs. Why? Why did I think that? You always hated me didn't you? I am such a fool. I fell in love with the one who hates me most. I lay on the floor and hug myself, trying to catch the warmth that has fled. I'm so cold, so alone. I can't even see him again. The tears make cold tracks down my face. I feel an empty lonliness, and utter despair. I finally let myself cry, and the sobs shake my entire body. This hurts worse than dying. I want to die again, and never feel this pain.   
  
"How pathetic." I hear a voice, and I can't believe that it's real. Turning, I see her, and I know that it's true. Kikyo. "I think that I'll actually be doing you a favor by killing you." I am shocked out of my crying.  
  
"What?"  
  
  
End  
  
Chapter Five   
  
  
A/n : Ahh that's so sad! I had tears in my eyes as I wrote that last part. I sure hope you like it, because It's two thirty AM now, and I stayed up to type this for you. I want some reviews this time. Tell your friends, neighbors, everyone! The more reviews I get, the happier I am! Next chapter - Battles! Oh yeah. The word that I used in this chapter is not a cuss word in the context used. I didn't especially like using it though. 


	6. Regrets6

A/n : Wow chapter six? I'm sorry this will take a while to get out because I have major writers block again.... I know! I'm terrible with writer's block. The battle scene with Inu Yasha and Zenshou was really hard. I can't believe that people like my fic though. Well it doesn't have 100 reviews, but I didn't really expect it to, considering that it's my first story. Well, my first posted story anyways. I have all sorts of story beginnings floating around my room. Some are complete crap, and some might actually be interesting. I wonder how many people actually read my ramblings at the beginning of the story. Miroku's POV.   
  
Disclaimer : I own Inu Yasha! Well, a graphic novel.... does that count? !POCKY!  
  
  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 6  
  
  
I woke up a few minutes ago, and by the position of the stars, it's early morning. I am starving and freezing. What an idiot I am. Falling asleep naked by a river? Not even a blanket? I must have been tired. I check my clothes, and put them on, though they are slightly damp. Cradling the firecat in my arms, I walk towards the village. I wonder how the girl is. Has she made it? Is she alive? I remembered the waxen look to her features when last I saw her. She had looked like she had been through the worst day of her life. Of course noone enjoys being attacked by demons, but it was as if she had lost her whole family. I felt a chill.   
  
There was a connection betweeen Naraku and that girl though. Why had the saimyoushou been there? I was at first hesitant to use the air rip, because they might have lingered. But I had done it anyway. Why did Naraku want that girl dead? Was she a threat to him? If so, she could be a valuable asset to us in our search. More likely though, Naraku had thought that she was in the way. That would be his style. I punched the nearest tree in frustration, startling a small animal. I wish he was here right now. Then I would defeat him, and be rid of the troubles in my life.  
  
The curse. Must it always come back to this? I look down at my hand, and make a fist. I can feel the opening. I knew that I must produce an heir, but I do not think that I would be able to put my child through the emotional turmoil that I have been through all my life. Would my child be cursed to knowing that he could die any day? Would he be afraid to love or be loved because of his curse? Would the ones I care for be tortured because of my choices.   
I saw how Lady Kagome looked at me whenever Naraku was mentioned. I could tell she wanted to take away the pain of others and bear it for them. Was she all right?  
  
  
Just then I arrived at the village. A light came from Kaede-baba's house. Was she still up tending the girl? I walk swiftly there. Knocking on the door softly, I hear Kaede bid me enter. The girl is flushed and sweating. A fever, most like. Kneeling next to her I recieve a warning glance from the old woman. I glare at her in return. Even I am not so lecherous that I would take advantage of an unconcious woman. I feel her head, which is burning hot. Confused, I look her over. She has a series of deep scratches up one side and arm that are seriously inflamed. That's strange, Kaede knows to clean all the injuries. How could they get infected?  
  
"Kaede?" I call softly, not wanting to disturb the girl.   
  
"Yes, monk?" She calls.  
  
"You did clean all her injuries thoroughly, did you not?" I question, gently examining the wounds.  
  
"Yes. Why?" She begins to get up.  
  
"These lacerations, they look inflamed." I press gently on one, and it begins to bleed again. The girl moans softly. The blood drips onto my hand and it begins to burn. "Poison?" I ask noone in particular. Suddenly the girl latches onto my hand, eyes wide. She is shaking in fear.   
  
"Don't let me die!" I can tell that she is not entirely lucid. "Please! Stay with me!"  
  
"I will." I attempt to calm her by stroking her hair.   
  
"Promise me!" I can tell that she has reopened some of her wounds.  
  
"I promise. Will you please calm down for me?" She settles a bit. The cat wakes, and comes to comfort her as well. It nuzzles her cheek.  
  
"Kirara? Good girl." The girl strokes the small youkai, relaxing. As Kirara curls up against her I try to keep her calm, asking her questions.  
  
"What's your name?" She looks up at me groggily.  
  
"Sango... But I wanna change it."  
  
"To what?"  
  
"Cheesecake." I grin at her, knowing that she is becoming delirious.  
  
"That's lovely. Where are you from Sango?"  
  
"Call me Cheesecake. I'm from a village. We do stuff there." The corner of my mouth twitches a bit. "I like birds."  
  
"Why, I like birds as well Cheesecake!" I lay her back down and pull the blankets over her. "But you can tell me later. Right now, you should get some sleep." She nods drowsily and closes her eyes. As I back away from her now sleeping form, Kaede taps me on the shoulder. I turn, and she hands me a bowl of soup and some bread.   
  
"Eat. I will take care of her. I can tell that you are exhausted." I want to object, so that I will be sure that she is alright. But my body insists, and I know I will not be able to help if I am also ill. I look at her, and feel a tug at my soul as I note her injuries again. Why do I care for her so? Kaede hands me a blanket. "Sleep now." I am suprised that I have eaten the food she gave me already. I feel my eyelids droop, and curl up on the floor. I look at her once more. *I promise.*  
  
****  
  
Inu Yasha  
  
  
I stare up at him in his battle-form. A huge monster, he stands on two legs, and has a head like a giant lizard, with numerous razor-sharp teeth. In place of arms though, he has at least 100 tentacles which are constantly writhing. His eyes are glowing red, and the three shikon shards in his forhead glittered menacingly. If he can shift forms, how will I kill him? He might just reform into a whole monster again. Well, I think recklessly, we won't find out until we try will we. I raise tesusaiga for a downward slash and charge him. He whips a tentacle towards me, and I slice it off and jump away. Anxiously, I glance at it to see if it will rejoin his body. It doesn't move, and I grin in triumph. Looking back towards Zenshou, I see him examining the stump from which the tentacle was just severed.  
  
"Not bad, for a half-demon." He looks at me again. "I'll have that sword once you're dead. It will make a lovely trophy." I charge at him again, and this time he sends several tetacles whipping towards me. I slice three of them and dodge the rest. Twisting to avoid one of those tentacles, I feel my abdominal wound reopening. Freeing my left hand from the hilt of the sword for a minute, I slice through two more tentacles with my claws. I bound out of range again. Six down. Who knows how many more to go?  
  
I'm not getting anywhere by just slicing off his tentacles. I think angrily. I'm just pestering him. I've got to do some more serious damage. But how? The cold, consuming anger flows through me again. I stick my claws into my wound, soaking them in my own blood. I fling the blood at him.  
  
"Claws of blood!" The blood cuts through several tentacles before dissipating. Zenshou's attention is taken from me for an instant. Right now, that's all I needed. When he looks towards the place I just was, he sees that I am not there. "Here, idiot!" I yell, and he tries to turn to see me. Behind him, I stab the tetsusaiga into his back. He howls in pain and throws me off, the tetsusaiga still imbedded in his back. He looks at me, and I can see the fear in his eyes.  
  
"How are you moving so fast? A mere hanyou should not be able to move as fast as you are right now." He banishes his fear and threatens me. "Now, you are waponless, dog. How do you plan to defeat me now?" Ignoring him, I run at him, slicing and dodging tentacles as I get closer. I know that I am about to defeat him. Then, my senses register a movement. Behind! I manage to turn around, but then his tentacle impales me. I gasp in pain. How had I missed it? He whips his tentacle, and I fly back into a wall. I hit, and feel the bones breaking. I fall forward into some boxes. This must be some kind of old storehouse, I think wearily. I pull myself up weakly. This is not going exactly as I had planned. I put a hand to my stomach, but immediately pull it away, my abdominal wound burning. His blood is all over my hands. It must be acidic. The callused skin on my hands is less affected by it. I take account of my wonds. The stomach wound, reopened and made larger. A few broken ribs, and a nasty bump on the head. I look at Zenshou, then grin ferally. I had done more damage than I thought. He had few remaining tentacles, and one of my claws of blood had grazed the side of his face. The tetsusaiga still protruded from his back, and a small trickle of blood flowed around the blade.  
  
As I look at his face, a plan begins to form in my head. He was getting all his power from those shikon shards. I can't fight like this much longer, otherwise I'll lose alot of blood. I had to separate him from those shards, but that's what he was expecting. This should, no, had to work. I pull tetsusaiga's sheath from my side and hold it in front of me. Then I think of Kagome. I see her smiling gently as she sleeps, and I pictured the first night I spent at her side, while she slept. It had been the night after I had defeated Hiten of the thunder brothers. When I thought she was dead, I had felt a terrible wrenching pain. I had stayed up most of that night, at her side. I was afraid that if I went to sleep, I would wake up and she wouldn't be there. I wanted to protect her. I feel the scabbad as it warms in my hands. The tetsusaiga flies through Zenshou's body, and towards me. Dropping the scabbard, I catch the blade. I charge him and fling claws of blood at him. Then I throw the blade. Zenshou, confused now that he is being attacked from three different directions, panics flailing his tentacles wildly.  
  
The claws of blood cut though the tentacles and impact upon his now visible belly. Five deep cuts appear there. He manages to knock the blade away, but that distraction gave me all the time I needed. I am in his face and, before he realizes it, I have cut the shikon shards from his head. His face registers shock, and he begins to shrink, morphing fluidly. As he reaches three feet tall, he turns into a black newt. I realize now that he was just a simple low-level illusion demon. In his original form, I could have killed him almost instantly. He looks up at me.   
  
"Even if I'm dead, you'll never get her back. And she will nevr know, because you never told her... how much you loved her." I cut his head off. I grab tetsusaiga, and limp over to Kagome's pale body.   
  
"I know."  
  
****  
  
Miroku  
  
I wake up the next morning, and the girl, Sango, is still asleep on the other side of the room. Her face is less flushed, and she is not quite as pale as last night. She really is quite beautiful. My own face grows warm and I sit up, looking for something to do. The fire needs to be stoked. I get out from under my blanket and shiver a bit in the cool morning air. I run to the woodpile right by the door and grab some kindling and a few logs. I cross the room again, and stir up the embers, putting the kindling on top. I see the embers glow orange, and the sunrise gives off that same color of light, as it rises in the sky. The fire begins to crackle, and I put the logs on, watching as they catch flame. I pull my blanket around my shoulders, not wanting to start the day. I sit there for a while, mezmerized by the fire. Then I hear Sango moan softly. I rush to her side, and she looks up at me, a bit dazed.   
  
"Water?" she asks, her voice rough.  
  
"Oh! Of course!" I cross the room again, and fill a clay cup with water. I walk back and sit by her side again. I put my hand under her head, and help her sip the water. When she has had enough, I put her head gently onto the cushion. "Better?" She nods, and looks up at me.  
  
"Are.. are you an angel?" She asks. "Am I dead?" I laugh.  
  
"I am hardly an angel, and you are not dead. I am just a humble servant of Buddha." I smile down at her, and she blushes a bit, self-concious. "Some people would be amazed that you are alive Lady Sango." She starts a bit and looks up at me.  
  
"How do you know my name?" She asks warily. She tenses up nervously.  
  
"You told me." I place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Last night. You were delirious with fever. I did not expect you to remember. However, you are not in any danger here, so please relax, and refrain from moving. It may make your injuries worse." Removing my hand from her shoulder, I see her sigh deeply. She closes her eyes. We sit like that for a while, the silence akward. Just when I think that she has fallen asleep, she opens her eyes, and tears begin to run down the sides of her face. Shocked, I wonder what's wrong. "Are you alright?" I ask her gently.  
  
"Kohaku... my brother... he's dead. My entire family is dead." She begins to shake with silent sobs. I look at the floor. I don't know what to do. going by instinct, I lift her up and let her cry into my shoulder. After a while, She begins to calm, and I lay her back down. I can hear the village rousing. She looks up at me again, and asks: "Why did you do that?" I had been wondering that myself. I wipe her tears.  
  
"Because you needed it." Standing, I turn towards the door. I hear her begin to call for me, and look over my shoulder, smiling, a warm feeling in my heart. "Don't worry, I'll be back."  
  
****  
  
Kagome  
  
  
"Kill me?" The tears that are still in my eyes sting a bit, as I look up at Kikyo in shock. "Why?" I look up at her, and I find it hard to believe that this is the Kikyo that Inu Yasha loves. Her eyes are cold and haughty, and though she has holy powers, she seems to be tainted with hate.   
  
"You are a fool, aren't you. You have such an enormous gift, a gift even larger than my own, and you have absolutely no training. That's like waving an unsheathed blade around and hoping you don't hit anyone. If you knew anything about your own powers, you'd know why I need to kill you now." I look up at her. What the heck is she talking about exactly? And what right did she have to go around insulting me? I begin to get angry.  
  
"Well excuse me! It's not like I am Miss perfect! I haven't seen a real preistess since I was two!" My voice is growing louder. "If I had had the chance to train, I would've! What would you know about that anyways! You grew up in a time when everyone would've jumped at the chance to train you." She looks at me coldly.  
  
"I am here because If I destroy your soul, then I will return to your body." She explains as if I were supid. She smiles a bit wickedly. "So, whichever of us leaves here 'alive' Will go back to your body, back, I wager, to Inu Yasha. The other will be destroyed." The thought of Inu Yasha is painful. "And since I am trained and you are not, I think I have a distinct advantage." I stare at her in horror. She strings a arrow to her bow, which she hadn't had until that moment. "However, I will give you one tool to use against me. In this dimension, anything that you imagine will become real. For example;" She closed her eyes. Suddenly, Inu Yasha was there, standing beside her. I stood up slowly, hardly daring to believe that it was him. "See? However, this is not really him." My heart sank. "It is just a mindless puppet, who will do whatever it's creator says. Understand?" I nod, and a pit is in my stomach. "Well then. Let's go."   
  
She fires the arrow, and it flies towards me. Panicked, I just barely ducked in time. I felt it fly right above my head. I broke out in a cold sweat, and stared at a calmly confident Kikyo. I can't let her get to me like this. If I just try and avoid all of her attacks, I'll be dead in no time! I dodged another arrow, thinking fast. I can do anything. Yes! Concentrating, I turned Kikyo's bow into a snake, which she promptly dropped. She looked up, and inclined her head towards me, aknowledging my attack. Suddenly, I dropped into a pit, and was falling. Again I concentrated, and I was flying on top of an enormous bird. It flew sharply upwards, and I was out of the pit. It deposited me on the ground and dissapeared. I stood there, panting. Kikyo smiled.  
  
"Not bad for a beginner." She smiled, still confident. "Now I'm going to get serious."  
  
  
  
End  
Chapter 6  
  
  
A/n : YAYYY! I'm so happy I got this finished before I left for my new house! I bet you are too. I'll get chapter seven out ASAP! Did you like the little fluff between Miroku and Sango? Review please! Maybe you could give me ideas for Kikyo and Kagome's fight. Until next time! Ja Ne! 


	7. Regrets7

A/N : I have no idea how soon this will come out, because I don't know when we are going to get internet at our new house. The only internet access I have right now is at the local library, and I can't take my fic there to type it. I've been kinda lazy. I should really be writing so that I can post like four chapters when I get internet again. Then maybe you'll forgive me. It really wasn't my idea to move. OH! maybe I'll get to post anyhow. My brother says I can take a disk to the library. Now I just have to be able to wait almost an hour for an hour's worth of time on the computer. There is ALWAYS a line. Cross your fingers! Well I guess you won't know if I get it up until I get it up. ^-^; Kagome's POV!  
Disclaimer : I got Inu Yasha for Christmas, but he got hit by a truck... or, should I say, the truck got hit by him. So he left.  
Regrets  
  
Chapter 7  
I sat there, panting. My heart was racing, and I felt a drop of sweat roll down my back. I hadn't done much, but I felt as if I had been running for the past hour. Kikyo, however, looked ready to duke it out for a long while. What was her secret? I thought back4444 on her ttacks. That's it! All of her attacks had been nonliving. If creating two animals had worn me out this much, I couldn't keep going much longer. I wondered if plants counted as nonliving. However, my thoughts are cut short as I see Kikyo readying yet another arrow. Well, I think, fight fire with fire. I pull up a bow of my own and nock an arrow. We stand there, bows drawn, glaring at one another. I feel so odd, as if I'm looking at a mirror. Then Kikyo's face registers momentary shock. She blinks, and I take the moment of advantage to fire my arrow and run to one side. Kikyo dodges and fires at me. I stop dead in my tracks. The arrow goes through the air straight in front of me. Had I kept running, I would've been hit. Kikyo nocks another arrow, and I start running again. As an arrow grazes my leg, I notice that I'm wearing the same outfit as Kikyo. I know that we must look exactly alike. The pain from my injury registers, and I stumble a bit. I hear Kikyo gasp, and I turn to see that she has the same injury as I do. She looks up at me in bewilderment.  
  
"How did you do that?" I look at her leg in shock as a small dark, stain spreads across her clothing. I grin in satisfaction. So, she doesn't know everything! I quickly realize that because we look exactly alike, we must mirror each other exactly. I change my appearance slightly. She is glancing in between me and her wound, astonished. I take the opportunity to attack. Thick vines, covered in thorns, twine around her hands and feet, pull her to the ground. I grin in triumph. As my concentration wavers, one of the vines begins to dissappear. Concentrating on them again, the vine solidifies. I see that her ankles and wrists are covered in scratches, which are oozing blood onto the colorless ground. I tremble, looking at her.  
  
"What's wrong?!" She cries out, desparate. "Just kill me! You know I would." Yes, I think, I know you would. But can I? I look at her face, so alike and yet so different. Her eyes are filled with hate and pain. What terrible things have happened to her that she hates everyone around her? I know that she hates Inu Yasha because she died believing that he betrayed her, but what makes her hate everyone else so much? She remembered when she had been guarding the jewel for such a short time. The looks the villiagers gave her, fear and respect all mixed together. The heavy feeling of responsibility that knowing she was the only one who could do this. If she failed, the results would be her fault. To have that weight on her shoulders all the time. She probably hated the people for making her into what she had to be to do her job. A thing to kill or be killed. not a person, but a holy object. I could imagine her; a little older than me, getting the responsibilities that she would bear her whole life long.  
  
At first, I didn't notice, but then I saw how our surroundings had changed. It was a hot summer's day, and there were people milling around a large shrine. They were very agitated, and the tension was thick in the dry air. From the shrine came a young girl, maybe seventeen. Her face beamed with pride at the honor she had been given. A small child kept to her skirts, probably around the young age of four. The young woman looked so much like myself that I gave a start. Kikyo?  
  
"This is where it all started."  
  
Beside me, the real Kikyo looked around, falling to her knees as tears sprang to her previously hate-filled eyes. Now there was only one thing that filled those eyes, and it wasn't hate, or anger, but it was oh-so very familiar to our broken soul. It was regret.   
  
* * * *  
  
Sango's POV  
It had been five days since I beacme lucid again. Still weak, I had Kaede-baba and Houshi-sama keeping me in bed all day long. Kirara stayed by my side to keep me company, but I could tell she was bored. I stroked her soft fur, thinking of Kohaku and father. I knew that Kohaku was dead, but I could only suppose with father, and, somehow, it was more painful. If he had been alive, he would've sent a search party for me, and I'm not that hard to find. My father had been the most accomplished demon hunter in the province. It was always our tribe that got called on, because of our excellent reputation. Now, I supposed, that I am the only one left to reestablish the tribe. I had made my desicion yesterday. I would find and kill Naraku, and in time, teach my children the life of a demon hunter.  
  
As the anger at Naraku bubbled up within me, I began to feel the tears running down my cheeks. I clenched my fists in determination, then jumped when I heard Kirara yelp in pain. I had unintentionally pulled her fur as my fists had balled up.   
  
"Oh! Kirara! I'm so sorry girl! I-I.." Trailing off, I begin to really cry. I always seem to hurt the ones I love the most. "I don't deserve to be a warrior! I'm such a coward." Violent sobs begin, and I shake with them. My wounds start to send sharp pains all through my upper torso, and I curl up in the corner I'm sitting in, just wanting the pain of living to go away. Kirara, concerned, tries to climb onto my lap. I rudely push her off, not wanting to be comforted by her. Instead I want.. Miroku. Miroku? What about father, or Kohaku? Why did I think of Miroku instead of them? Now I feel guilty. How can I think of myself at a time like this? Kirara walks slowly too the door, looks back at me, then dashes out. How can I blame her? I wouldn't want to stay around myself all day either. 'Crybaby!' I hear my own voice, an echo from the past. I'm yelling at Kohaku because he is crying, though I don't know what for. 'You don't want people to think you're a weakling!' As I think of all the other times I yelled at him or the times we fought, I plead for someone to let me know that I had been a good sister, to give me a sign. The gravel just outside the door crunches, and I look up as the door flap opens, the wind cooling my tears as they run down my face. Miroku steps in, his face concerned.  
  
"Sango. Are you alright?" He slips off his shoes and walks across the room. "The way Kirara came running, I thought that you must be in mortal peril?" He gives me a reassuring smile and I can't help but feel comforted, which is immediately followed by more guilt. Is my grief so shallow that a single smile will erase it? I shut my eyes tight, to escape that smile. My more resonable side argues that it's only his smiles that bring this level of comfort, confusing me more. Why should his comforting be any different than Kaede's. After all, I had met them on the same day, and I spent more time with her than with him. I flinch as a gentle hand touches the bandages on my arm, and my eyes fly open. Miroku is at my side with an expression of worry on his face. "Sango, you're going to hurt yourself even more if you don't try and rest." He begins to gently remove the bandage, which was wet with blood. I watch as he pours some water over the wound, and rebandages it with a clean cloth bandage. "Besides, we're going to run out of bandages at the rate you use them up." I smile sheepishly.   
  
He pushes gently on my shoulders, trying to lay me back in my bed. Suddenly angry, I try to resist. Who does he think I am? I won't follow his commands if I don't want to! He stops pushing on my shoulders, glaring a bit. He can't force me to do anything! I can beat three armed men in combat, and I-! His hands back on my shoulders, he pushes me back with ease. I try to sit back up, and a sharp pain shoots through me. My mucles give out, and I let out a small cry, both in pain and shock. I'm so weak. I have to do this! I try again, gasping, and as I try to sit up I feel a horrible tearing pain in my abdomen and I cry out again, my cry echoed by the person sitting next to me. I must have gotten a third of the way up. I seem to be falling back into my bed in slow motion, my vision filled with spots. As I hit the floor, the pain that goes through my skull pushes me over the edge and I black out.  
  
* * * *  
  
Miroku's POV  
I watch as Sango tries to sit up unassisted. I want to help her, but right now, she would only take that as an insult. This is the second time she has tried. I watch her closely, and when I hear her cry out, my own cry echoes hers as I see with dismay the pallid color of her face. She falls to the floor, unconcious. I quickly check her pulse, which is racing. I then go to check on the wounds in her abdomen, but I see without unbandaging it that she has reopened one of the large wounds in her stomach. The blood is seeping through her clothing at an alarming rate. For the first time in my life, I'm nervous as I decide what to do to treat a person medically. I can feel my own heartbeat speeding up as I decide to stitch the wound closed. It was unconventional, yes, but Kagome had mentioned it to me once. I stir up the embers in the fire and throw a log on, remembering.  
  
"You have to make sure everything is clean when you're treating people with open wounds. Boil the water and the bandages and heat the tools you're using, either in boiling water or fire. Otherwise, it can get dirt in there, and the wound will become infected." She had looked so stern and motherly. I had been about to treat a young child, and she had objected to my methods, confusing me. She always said that she knew next to nothing about medical things, but compared to the ways of our time, she could practically be a physician herself. Once I applied her knowledge of cleansing everything, the incidents of infection had dropped greatly. As I had been thinking my work had been accomplished, and now everything was ready.  
  
I pulled the needles out of the fire, and placed them on a clean cloth to cool. The water that was constantly hanging over the fire came out of it, and I began to clean the wound.   
I worked quickly, wanting her to be out of pain. Before I knew it, I was putting the last stitch into the wound, and Kaede walked through the door. As I turned to look, she gave me a questioning glance, as if asking 'What happened?'.  
  
"She overworked herself, and re-opened one of her larger wounds." I tied off the last knot, and sat back with a relieved sigh. Wiping the sweat from my face I asked, "Would you poultice and bandage it? My hands seem to be weak now that I've stopped." She smiled knowingly, and I wondered what she thought she knew.  
  
"Aye, I'll do it. Best that you get some food for yourself. I ate elsewhere." I nod absently, relieved that the color is finally returning to Sango's face. Smoothing the hair back off her face, I silently tell her to rest as I look at her tired features. She pushes herself too hard. I stand and walk out into the cool evening air, a small smile on my face.  
  
* * * *  
  
Inu Yasha's POV  
  
Something is loud, disturbing. I curl up closer to the warm, soft body next to me, not wanting to wake from this pleasant dream. I see myself as a small boy, lying next to my mother as she sings me to sleep. Her gentle features calm me as I begin to fall asleep again. Then the noise comes again, accompanied by a gentle shake. The noise turns into a voice, that is soft, soothing.  
  
"Hey." I try to place the voice, but I can't. It's a woman though. I open my eyes slowly, and as awareness returns, pain comes with it. My vision is fuzzy, and I see an unfamiliar face just above me. "Awake?" I tense, not knowing the face above me, and the woman retreats, hands held up in a submissive posture. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, or your- friend. Just relax." Friend? I glance next to me, and see Kagome there, pale, but breathing. She's alive? I sit up, and I become dizzy with pain. The woman rushes in to support me. As I regain my senses, I push her away. She falls akwardly on her rear end, and we glare at each other. "Fine. Fine attitude you have there young man." She pushes herself up slowly, and I realize that she's older than she looks. She looks to be in her mid-thirties, but she moves like someone nearly twice thirty. I look around quickly, realizing that we're still in Kagome's time. "You may be ungrateful, but whether or not you trust me, there's a bathroom through that door," She points behind her. "And some food right there." She points to a small table in a corner. She turns, her black hair flipping over her shoulder. "If you need anything, I will be out there." She points to a door on my left, and immediately exits through it, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Ungrateful? What should I be grateful for? I'd never seen the woman before in my life, much less have anything to thank her for. Right? I thought back. Last I remembered, I had had been lying in that warehouse with Kagome. How did I get here? Then it hits me. She brought us here. I put my hand to the large wound in my stomach, and find a gauze bandage there. I growl. I hate owing people things. My stomach growls, and I find that I'm hungry, among other bodily needs.   
  
As I step out of the bathroom a few minutes later, my sense of smell begins to really kick in, and I inhale deeply. The history of the past few days is relayed to me through smell. I can smell medicines, obviously used to treat me. The woman, who smells lightly of snow and heavily of medicine. Kagome and myself. And the food. My mouth begins to water. Throwing caution to the wind, I rush over to the table, and begin devouring the small meal that is there. There is a thick vegetable beef stew and warm bread. Right now, it's more air than food though. I cannot have eaten for the time I was unconcious, so I was starving. At first I'm suprised at the small portions, but as I become full, the food is only halfway gone. I turn and look at Kagome. Why isn't she awake? She's not hurt. Maybe.. I should ask that lady. Frustrated at my lack of options, I stand and go through the door. As I step in the room, she looks up over a thick book. I sit there, unsure what to say.  
  
"Call me Suzuka." I look up, a bit startled. For a woman, Suzuka is very intimidating. We stand there for a minute, the silence deafening. She speaks up, impatient. "Well, did you need something?"   
  
"Uh... I.."I stammer, feeling like a child. She reminds me of my mother. She raises an eyebrow. I try to remember what it was I came out here for. Oh yeah! "What's wrong with Kagome?" I ask, now impatient myself. "Why isn't she awake?" She closes her book and looks at me sadly.  
  
"Kagome? That's her name, huh?" As she looks me in the eyes, she seems to age a bit. "I'm afraid that it's likely your Kagome will never wake up again."  
End Regrets chapter seven.  
A/n: Now that I've gotten settled in at the new house, The next chapter won't take nearly as long. Sorry about the wait. I'll try to get the next chapter out before the twentieth. Also, read my new work, Lost Soul. It will make me so happy if you read and review both of the stories. 


	8. Regrets8

A/n: 03-30-03 Sorry you guys. I have kind of been putting this off without meaning to. My birthday was last Tuesday, and then I had a concert, and now I have this cold. I'd like to, right about now, just sleep for a week. To top it all off, the new quarter starts tomorrow at my local community college. Technically I'm only a high school student, which is where I participate in choir. But there's a program where I live that lets high school kids go to the community college. The fact that I don't have classes there tomorrow is nice, but hardly helpful, because I'm not likely to get better anytime soon. I'm also running a fever, so this one might be a bit weirder than usual. LOL. Inu Yasha's POV.  
Regrets Chapter 8  
Disclaimer: Haven't you gotten the idea? I don't own any of the Inu Yasha group. And even if I DID, do you think I'd just be handing them out?!  
I stood there staring at Suzuka. What does she mean? Kagome was alive, so obviously, she'll come back, right? My ears lay back against my head as I begin to growl.  
  
"Why wouldn't Kagome come back?" I growl menacingly. "Is that a threat? Did you do something to her?" I can smell the fear on her, but she isn't showing it. In fact, she looks angry.  
  
"Put. Me. Down." She demands in a quiet voice, and I realize that I am holding her a few inches off the ground, my claws digging into her arms a bit. Suprised, I toss her away into her chair. "We need to work on your manners young man," She says as she rubs her arm. "First, let me tell you how I found you two and brought you to my home." I blinked. It hadn't occurred to me that this human woman was treating me as if she saw people with fangs and claws every day. She wasn't afraid, except when I had threatened her. "It might appear strange to you that a mortal woman is used to dealing with demons, especially in days like these, when demons are regarded as fairy tales. I work at a nearby hospital. Mostly we treat humans, but the few hanyou, demons, and non-humans that there are today come to us for treatment. I am in charge of that branch of the hospital. That is why I'm not shocked to see a young man with dog ears." She raised an eyebrow at me, amused. "I was suprised however, to have my son sense a demon aura in an abandoned warehouse as he was walking me home. We went and found you two, and I had you brought to my home for treatment. Normally, I would have taken you to the hospital, but they have all sorts of forms, and you have no license, as is required by the government. I brought you here to avoid trouble. In return, I'd like to ask you a few questions. Also, I have a slight bit of uh.. spiritual training, which brought me to believe that your friend's soul is... in a battle, for lack of a better explanation."  
  
"A battle? Why should that affect whether she wakes up or not?" The hair on the back of my neck rises, and I begin to feel threatened by a presence. I lay my ears back. I will not be intimidated by a woman!  
  
"Your friend's soul has been split into two parts. Right now, the two parts of her soul are battling for control of the body that is sleeping in there." She takes a deep breath, about to continue, when the door opens. A young man steps in. As I catch sight of him I jump up, reaching for the tetsusaiga. A demon! The young man looks at me, a bit startled. His hair is grown long, pulled back into a tail, but it does not quite hide the points of his ears. As he pulls back his lips in a grimace of distaste, I see the fangs in his mouth, and the marks on his cheeks and wrists identify that has poison in his claws. I realize that tetsusaiga must be in the room with Kagome, and I am on my own. Then, to my suprise, he turns away. I relax just a bit, and before I realize it, he is at my throat, his claws posistioned for the killing blow.  
  
"You shouldn't relax," He says menacingly. "Just because I turned my back. I thought you would know better." He pokes me in the gut, and I grunt a little in pain. I had forgotten my wounds. He pushes me over and walks back to Suzuka's side. "Then again," He says, grinning as I climb quickly to my feet. "You wouldn't have those wounds if you did know better, would you?" Then, as Suzuka glares at him, he shifts uncomfortably. He doesn't look in her direction, but as she lays her book down on her lap and clasps her hands, he jumps. "Sorry. I shouldn't tease you like that." Suzuka nods, and he visibly relaxes.  
"This is my son, Keisuke." I jump a little. Her son? He doesn't smell human in the slightest. She clears her throat. I look at her warily, confused. "Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself?"  
  
"I'm Inu Yasha." I look at her. Then at Keisuke. I could swear that he was a full demon.  
  
"And you're a half dog-demon." She nods. "Well Inu Yasha, I'll explain more about your friend, but first, I need some details. One, where are you from? Two, how did your friend's soul get split, if you know? Three, Why do both halves of her soul have a deep emotional attachment to yours?"  
  
"Kagome's soul..." Both Kikyo and Kagome had been on my mind for a while. Thoughts of the shikon jewel accomanied the thoughts of Kikyo. She had always been so lonely, I wanted to be human, and stay with her always. But Kagome seemed, happy. She never said anything about me changing, she just accepts me as I am. I explain softly where we had come from while Keisuke's eyebrows raise in disbelief. Normally, right about now, I would be at his throat but my anger seems far away, even muted. Suzuka just seems to listen though, showing no signs as to whether or not she believes my story. I reach the end of my story having told them everything from the beginning, with Kikyo. I couldn't understand one thing she had said though. Both parts of Kagome's soul had an emotional attachment? Kikyo, she hated me for what happened the day she died. She might have liked me before that, but what about Kagome? Does she care about... me? A deep sob interrupts my thoughts, and I look up to see slow tears running down Suzuka's face, Keisuke at her side with concern on his eyes.  
  
"Mom, it's okay, I can tell him." Suzuka seems much younger, almost childlike as she sobs into her hands. Keisuke's comforting arm is wrapped around her. Suzuka nods at her son, and walks out of the room with one backward glance at me. Suddenly all my emotions seem to come rushing back. I feel kind of gulity. I didn't make her cry, did I? As Keisuke turns from the door, he looks at me uncomfortably. Don't I not like him? "You can't be mad at her." What? Be mad at Suzuka? He sighs, continuing. "She was just trying to help. And you can't ell anyone, but I suppose, where you're from, there's noone who would really know her." The speech sounds practiced. I get frustrated.  
  
"Get to the point already." He shoots me a look, and I glare back, but close my mouth.  
  
"The thing is, my mom has been manipulating you." I scoff, but he ignores me. "She's not human." I start to interrupt, but then I recall that she never had smelt like a human. Snow, medicine, Kagome and myself had been the major scents on her. I blink. If she wasn't human, what was she?  
  
* * * *  
  
Kagome's POV  
Kikyo seems to have forgotten me she just stares at the scene before us with those heart wrenching eyes. The tears run down her face. I feel a need to comfort her, but the answers I need to do so haven't been given to me yet. I look at her, silently promising to come back. Then run up to the scene, and I try to stop as the crowd looms ahead, but I trip and go flying. Straight through a person and halfway through another. I stand up before I realize it. Creeped out, I dash quickly through the rest of the people. They don't seem to notice. I do though, and chills are running down my back in this stifling heat. Am I the ghost or are they? I don't think I want to know. I could just imagine Inu Yasha though. 'Do you think you could be any clumsier, wench!' I shake off thoughts of him, blinking away tears that wanted to form. As my eyes clear I see a small party of warriors, or something. They're riding swiftly down the road, causing the dust under the horses' hooves to go fliying. In the lead is a woman, in her thirties, I'd guess. It's hard to tell with the face masks. On her back though, is a huge boomerang. (A/n: It's not Sango, itd her grandmother.) Appraoching the shrine, they rein in thier horses. The woman makes an announcement, her voice slightly muffled by her mask.  
  
"We cannot stay! A large demon horde has followed us to get the jewel." A gasp came from the crowd, and panicked cries began. "SILENCE!" Her voice carried over the noise. "We will return and fend them off. Where is the priestess?" At this, Kikyo rushed forward.   
  
"She's too young. We're suppsed to trust her with the jewel?" A man says softly to his companion, who shrugs.  
  
"She's supposed to be really powerful." He looked her over. "Hard to believe, though." They both snicker, which Kikyo arrives in time to hear. She blushes. The leader glares at them before turning back to Kikyo.  
  
"You are her?" Kikyo nods, the blush fading. "Then, I will entrust you with the protection and cleansing of the Shikon Jewel." She pulls off a necklace with the jewel hanging from it. As she leans over to hand it to Kikyo, she says in a voice only for those two. "You had better do your job well little girl. My husband died retrieving that thing." Kikyo nods solemnly, all trace of embarrassment gone. She takes the jewel, but the woman catches her wrist. "If that falls back into demon hands and you live to tell the tale, I will hunt you down myself." Kikyo's face pales and she nods. The woman, her intense eyes searching Kikyo's face, drops her and turns her horse. "We go! To the hunt!" Her and her men ride off. I see Kikyo, her white knuckled hands grasping the jewel. She's muttering something under her breath.  
  
"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." As the crowd scatters and her sister comes up to cling at her legs, she continues staring at the road, muttering. Finally, her face hardens and she nods to herself, walking away. The scene fades and my heart continues to pound. That woman had been insanely serious. She scared me. The grey surroundings again fade away as a new scene appears. It's late evening, and I know by instinct that a year has passed. Some samurai ride into town, looking scraggly and greasy. I can feel their malicousness as they ride past me. Children are called into the houses, and the men laugh gratingly at the fear they recieve. Out the corner of my eye, I see Kikyo send little Kaede into a house as she prepares to approach the men.  
  
"Sirs, welcome to our little village. Is there any way that we could help you?" The leader looks Kikyo up and down with a disgusting leer. She looks steadily back at him, though I can see her clench her hands to stop them shaking.  
  
"Yeah." He responds nastily, pulling out his short sword and poining it at her. "Give us your money. A little service might be nice too." He grins wickedly as his men chuckle. "We've been traveling for a while, you see, and we're...hungry." Kikyo looks at his sword disgustedly, then glares up at him.  
  
"I'm afraid we cannot help you then." She says through gritted teeth. The leader narrows his eyes, and raises his sword threateningly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Now get out before I make you." His men find that hilarious. However, the leader swings his sword, angry. Kikyo watches it's path, and as it gets about a foot away, it hits an invisible shield. The bright flash of light it makes blinds the men, startling their horses. The animals rear and dump their riders. The leader, crawling backward away from Kikyo, sheathes his sword. The men take off after thier horses, and he stands up.  
  
"You won't get away with this, witch." He spits at her feet. "I'll be back." Then he runs into the darkness, following his men. As he dissapears her facade of strength evaporates, and she leans against a nearby wall breathing deeply. People peek out, and Kaede rushes out the door to her sister. Kikyo sweeps her up, holding her close for comfort. The village eventually settles down, and I wonder why the scene isn't over. Then I notice, in the darkness, that the samurai are back. They're creeping into the house that Kikyo had shoved Kaede into. They must think it's her house, but when she had gone to bed, her house had been a little ways up the hill. I have to warn them! I run up to Kikyo's house as fast as I can, and get there, panting.  
  
"Kikyo! Wake up!" I try to shake her sleeping form, but my hands pass right through her. I cry out in frustration, and she seems to hear me. "Kikyo, they're in trouble! You have to help!" She opens her eyes slowly. Pushing herself up on one elbow, she looks at the slumbering Kaede. Seeing that she isn't awake, Kikyo starts to lay back down. "No! Don't go back to-" I'm interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. Kikyo sits up, horror in her eyes. Grabbing her nearby bow and arrows, she bolts out the door. I follow, frutrated that I can't help. When we get there, the house is beginning to blaze, and we hear catcalls coming from the surrounding country.  
  
"Die, witch!"  
  
"Hope you can stop that!" Whoops and loud laughter follow.Kikyo stops, staring in horror at the scene before her. A young woman, probably eleven, is cradling the bloodsoaked body of her mother, crying. She looks up at Kikyo, furious and distressed.  
  
"This is all your fault! My whole family is dead because of you!" Her words are broken by sobs, "You really are a witch!" Kikyo's face is wet with tears, and she trys to find something to say. She looks around her for support, but most of the villiagers that aren't busy putting out the fire are shifting uncomfortably, noone meeting her eyes. They believe it too? A wrenching sob is torn from her throat, and she runs into the forest nearby. I run after her, not knowing what else to do. Tears are noww running down my face as well as hers. She trips and falls, but doesn't get back up, just lays there, crying into the dirt. As I stand there unable to help I can hear the words she's saying through her sobs.  
  
"Why couldn't I stop it? Why? Why?" She goes back to convulsive sobs as the scene fades to grey again. A dozen more scenes like those followed, always with Kikyo asking her question. As the time of memories ends, I walk over to her. We say it together, this time yelling, hoping to be heard.  
  
"WHY?"  
End regrets chapter 8  
A/n: *Pulls out a tissue* Gah, that was so sad! *deep breath* I'm okay now. I know, there was no M/S in this one, but maybe next chappie will be just them. With alot of fluff? Who knows (certainly not me). Well, I'm off to the beach! 


	9. Regrets9

A/n: That's a lot better. I was wondering where all you people went or if my writing was just really  
  
sucky. I'm glad you all want me to continue. Now, I'll try to jump-start my writing abilities. It  
  
usually works pretty well. Also, how do you like my OCs? They aren't going to become main characters,  
  
I just needed them to take care of the injured Inu-chan. Also, I know he was ooc last chapter, but  
  
there was a reason that you'll find out soon. Like I promised, I'll put some Mir/Sango fluff in this...  
  
I think. ::Laughs nervously:: Anywho, this is actually the beginning of the end, if you catch my   
  
meaning. Miroku's POV!  
  
Disclaimer: If I find a way to clone Inu Yasha, can I keep him? ::gets glares from lawyers:: Didn't  
  
think so.  
  
Regrets 9!!!  
  
The scent of rain was in the air as the sun rose, and the grass was wet from last night's storm. I walk through the forest lazily, gathering medicinal herbs to replenish Kaede's supplies. As I finish my chore, I walk back towards the village. As I reach the edge of the forest, I see Sango walking towards it, leaning heavily on her weapon. I drop my bag of herbs, angry. What in the world does that girl think that she's doing? Stalking towards her, I see her collapse into the tall grasses. My heart jumps into my throat, and I dash towards her, hoping that she's alright. When I reach her side she's on her hands and knees, sobbing with pain and frustration. I fall to my own knees beside her. "Sango, what do you think you're doing! You're going to hurt yourself!" She stops her struggles for a moment, her tears falling into the dirt beneath her.  
  
"Please... Please Houshi-sama. I need to bury my family." Her family? She doesn't even know where their bodies are. I begin to protest. Then I see that she has her brother's scythe in her hand. "I can't live with myself," she says softly. "Knowing that they're dead and I'm not. I can't sleep at night, because I see them when I close my eyes. I need to say... goodbye." I look at her, wanting to protect her from the pain she feels. I know that she should probably be resting, but this is something that she needs to do and....   
  
"Sango," I ask quietly, "If I took you back right now, you would just try again later, wouldn't you?" She just looks at me silently. "I thought so." I mutter. I get to my feet and then bend down to pick her up in my arms. I walk slowly into the forest as she sobs quietly into my robes, her brother's weapon clutched tightly to her chest. My eyes linger on her chest for a moment before I shake myself clear of such thoughts. I really have to think of something else...  
  
It seems strange, as I carry her into the forest, that such a courageous warrior seems so fragile and small in my arms. "You know, Sango... that you have no reason to feel guilty about being alive. I understand that you miss your family, but don't you think those who loved you would want you to stay alive, even if it meant you could not be together for a while." She nods, sniffling a bit.   
  
"I know that, but what do I have now? I have no family, and I was the last to hear what happened in my village! I have noone!" She turns accusing eyes on me and I wince inwardly. I shouldn't have tried to keep it from her, but she would've only become more depressed! I had wanted to wait a while before letting her know. When I do not reply, she continues, now angry as well as miserable. Great Miroku, you're doing just a wonderful job of watching over this girl. "I trusted that you weren't keeping anything from me. You won't even let me deal with my own problems! I need to know some things. Don't you trust that I'm mature enough to deal with this?" She stops then says, quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm just venting my frustrations about Naraku. I should have just killed him when I had the chance, the slimy-" I trip. What? When had she been near Naraku? She looks at me strangely as I set her down by a tree and grasp her hand in my cursed one.  
  
"Sango, please tell me everything you know about him. Do you remember anything? Anything at all?" She is suprised at my intensity.   
  
"Um.. he was a young lord over a household in.." She gets a puzzled look on her face and turns to me quizzically. "I.. can't remember anything else!" I drop her hand and turn away, punching a tree trunk in my frustration. She watches me silently for a moment before she seems to realize something. "Miroku." I turn to her. "As much as I appreciate it, I don't need you to avenge me and my family. I'll do that myself." Shaking my head, I laugh bitterly as I look at my hand.  
  
"Sango, as much as I would like to kill him for that reason... I have another." She looks at me, asking silently what other wrongs he had done. I look at her for a moment. I don't want her to know. I shake my head. "Nevermind."  
  
I pick her up again and go to a small clearing a bit further into the forest, where we dig a hole to bury the scythe in. As she prays for her family's spirits, I watch and clear my head of thoughts of Naraku. For now, my grievances against him would have to wait until Sango healed both physically and emotionally. Could she ever be whole again? Her words again rang through my head - "I have noone!" AS I carry her back to the villiage, I keep hearing her grief-stricken sobs that come at night. As I set her on the floor in Kaede's hut, I decide that I need to get away for awhile, because I keep wanting to say, 'I'll be there for you.' But I know in my heart that I can't be there for her. So instead I say: "I'll be back. I need to get your weapon and the herbs." Then I walk out the door, feeling her gaze on my back as I leave.  
  
****  
  
Sango's POV  
  
As I watch Miroku walk out the door, I wonder again what he was talking about earlier. Ever since I had brought up Naraku, he had been tense and secretive. The look in his eyes had been so... mournful on the way back. Naraku, a yong man maybe only a few years older than me who had just recently inherited his lands. Miroku was a bit older too. What could he have done to Miroku? Maybe his father? No... Miroku wasn't the type to hold grudges against a family. Or was he? I had only known him for about a week. I had no rights or evidence to make serious judgements about his character. He never told anything about himself besides his name, really. The fact that I didn't know him and he wouldn't tell me about himself made me upset. "I want to know more about him." I murmur quietly to myself.  
  
"Don't we all?" says Kaede's quiet voice. I jump. I didn't even hear her come into the room. She crosses the room slowly as I ponder what she said. Even she doesn't know him? I ask her. "Well of course I don't know him." Shaking her head, she continues. "Doesn't let anyone in, that one. Not that he doesn't trust us, mind you, otherwise he'd never fight with us the way he does. I suppose it's because of the curse."  
  
"Which curse? He's cursed?" Kaede's one eye widens a bit in surprise. "Tell me about it." I plead softly. She laughs a bit before speaking.  
  
"I guess I supposed you already knew, given everone and their dog knows about it in this town. But I suppose the gossips don't bring it around anymore beacuse it's old news." She chuckles again to herself. "Well, it wasn't his curse in particular, but a family thing. Fifty years ago, Naraku-" I interrupt.  
  
"Naraku? Fifty years ago?" I shake my head fervently. "That man couldn't be more than twenty." Again her face shows an expression of shock.  
  
"Didn't you know, girl? Naraku's a demon." The room gets cold and I start to feel sick. I look up at her begging her to say it isn't true, but her expression is firm. Tears make their ways down my cheeks leaving burning trails behind. I gag, and though I don't throw up, the action makes my healing mucles go into convulsions and I curl up on the wooden floor, gasping in pain and horror. The pain starts to recede and I feel Kaede's rough, wrinkled hands smoothing over my face and hair. When I finally get myself under control, I demand she tall me everything she knew. About both Naraku and Miroku.  
  
As she tells about the death of her sister and the trapping of Inu Yasha, I begin to realize just how many lives he has ruined. As I find out about Miroku's curse, It hits me full force. He had suffered just as much as I had at Naraku's hands. And with his mission to stop Naraku, the guilt of letting him destroy yet another life must have hit him hard. I knew for sure that he was the kind of person who would take that guilt onto his shoulders heavily. I didn't even need to know him very well to tell that he carried a very heavy burden. AS Kaede finished her story, he walked in the door. My eyes immediately went to him, and his hand. I told myself to stop staring, but my eyes wouldn't be drawn away from this man who cared so much for everyone, and who I had begun to care for.   
  
He stopped momentarily in the doorway, then propped up my hiraikotsu in the corner and deposited the herbs there as well. He turned and saw me staring at his hand. He looked at it in shame then gave a grin that was more grimace.   
  
"I didn't want you to know." He said simply, then walked back out. In the silence that followed, the howling winds just outside the windows seemed deafening. I wanted to go after him, but my legs refused to move, and I sat there as a new batch of tears made it's way down my face.  
  
A/n: WAHHhhh! More sadness! I'm so terrible. 


	10. Regrets10

A/n: Okay, back from summer break with fresh ideas and... here we go. Inu Yasha's POV  
  
Disclaimer: Whatever, he's not mine and he never will be.  
  
Regrets 10  
  
Keisuke sighs and starts speaking. "She was human, once long ago. About three hundred years ago to be exact. However, she fell in love with a guy who was sworn to serve a dark miko. She didn't know that he had fled from his master though. They got married and, one day, the miko found them. In her rage, she killed her husband and placed a curse on her." He sighs wearily. "I'm not sure what the exact curse is, but, she can't die. Or, more accurately, she doesn't stay dead. This is her fourth or fifth time she has been 'reborn'. An added affect of the curse is that she can feel and manipulate other's emotions, play with their souls like putty. If she's not careful, she can drive people insane."  
  
Enraged, I jump up. "What?! She was affecting my feelings with all this mumbo-jumbo crap and she could've driven me insane?" I flex my claws, and stalk towards the door. Before I go three steps, I find myself pinned to the wall by Keisuke. His eyes are practically glowing with menace.   
  
"She was trying to help you, you emotionally constipated twit!" He growls and slams me against the wall again. "I don't care if you are wounded or whatever. You have no idea what doing this does to her. So you won't touch her. She's in enough pain." He gives a convulsive shudder and throws me to the floor. "I need to get out. Stay with your friend." His voice is rough, and his entire body is tensed. I begin to get up and go after him but he turns and looks at me, startling me. His eyes are red and his fangs are nearly three inches long - he's beginning to transform to his normal demon state. "Stay here." Before I have a chance to move, the door slams shut behind him.  
  
"Feh. Who needs him." I walk back into the back room and tie the tetsusaiga to my waist. Now I wouldn't be caught unaware. Turning, I walk over to the bed and Kagome's still form. I touch her face softly. "I'm glad, Kagome, that you're still alive. Don't leave me." I lay next to her. And I rest, listening carefully for any sign of danger. I would not allow her to be harmed again.  
  
****  
  
Kagome's POv  
  
As I sit with Kikyo as her quiet sobs recede, I know that this still hasn't solved anything. Kikyo would still want to go to my body, and I wanted it back. We couldn't both have it. How could I fight with her now that I knew what she had been through. The face that she had shown to the world was just a mask. The person I had thought of as cold and heartless just put up a wall to keep from being hurt. Was it any wonder that she showed such a hatred towards Inuyasha when she thinks he betrayed her? He was the first one she had opened up to and it had turned out a disaster because of Naraku. She needs to know that Inuyasha wasn't the one who betrayed her. I touch her shoulder gently and begin to explain what I know about Naraku.  
  
Beneath my hands, I can feel her shuddering sobs begin again. Now it seems strange to me that this woman, who everyone loved, whose shadow I had to live under, should be so fragile. It seems wrong that I should be the one to comfort her when all I had ever felt for her was resentment. After all, wasn't Inuyasha always making those snide comments about how Kikyo was prettier, more mature, better with the bow, and nicer? Why would Inuyasha want me back when he could have Kikyo back, alive and with him? What had I ever done to help him? I always insulted him and used 'sit' on him whenever I got frustrated. I could barely shoot a bow and had no miko powers, although I had the potential. Why didn't I try to help him more? Because it hurt when he compared me with Kikyo. I always knew that I could never live up to the woman whoise face he saw when he looked at me. He loved her. And even though I loved him, How could I live knowing that maybe if he ever did love me in return, it wasn't just the pale shadow of Kikyo he saw in me?  
  
I finally finished my story of Naraku and all the lives he had ruined. What we knew about him wasn't much, but all I knew she now knew too. She sat for a while, silent. then finally looked at me. "Thank you. Thank you for listening to me and for explaining how I died. However, this cannot change that there is only one body and two personalities, if only one soul." I nodded sadly, knowing what was coming next. She climbs to her feet, her mask of indifferece slipping back. "So now, we must continue or battle. And I will not go easy on you." A chill grows in the pit of my stomach as I realize what must now happen. This wasn't a situation where one of us could just walk away. I had to kill her, or she was going to kill me. I stand up shakily and face her, trying to look brave or angry or anything but afraid. I knew I wouldn't survive.   
  
****  
  
Miroku's POV  
  
Walking through the village, I keep recalling the expression on her face when she learned about my curse. I saw it in her eyes - it's that look. Whenever someone finds out about my curse, a certain look goes into their eyes. Pity, fear, anguish. It cut me so deeply to see her look at me like that. Especially when the look wasn't directed at me for more than a second. She couldn't tear her eyes away from my hand. Somehow, knowing that my destruction was coming closer with every passing second didn't make me nervous anymore, but knowing that others might be harmed... Even worse now, she knew that I could die within the next hour and feared me for it. Not me directly, but still, my curse was a part of me that couldn't be changed until Naraku's death. It hurt that she would fear me now.   
  
The clanging of my staff brought me to my senses. I could not go around wallowing in self-pity just because one girl now knew about my curse. Staying away would not change the fact that she knew. Besides, it was dinnertime, and I was hungry. She would not be any different than any other girl. She would pity me my fate and hope that she was not there when it happened. Why would she be any different?   
  
I step into the house, ducking through the door quietly. Kaede sits next to a bubbling pot of curry, and the smells waft throughout the house. Sparing a small smile for Sango, I slip out of my shoes and step inside. As I inquire about dinner I can practically feel the smll glances she sends towards me. She seems to be debating something. I ignore her and fetch the dishes for the food. the house is quiet and tense as we begin eating. Kaede looks at me, attempting to assess my mood. I let her try to guess. You can't be a good monk without being able to hide things well. Right now I am sitting placidly, eating my food. Noone would guess that Sango's shifting and soft mumbling is bothering me more than it should. Why should she be any different?   
  
"I'm sorry, Miroku. I should've asked you before telling Sango about your curse." She clears her throat. Kirara jumps into her lap to be get her ears scratched."Howewver, I feel that Sango has a right to know as much as everyone else about Naraku. Though we don't know his motives, we know that he is after us as much as we are after him." I nod, seeing her point.  
  
"You are right. Sango should know everything she possibly can if she plans to go after him when she is healed." Sango jumps a bit and looks directly at me for the first time.   
  
"How did you... is it that obvious?" She is blushing. I smile slyly.  
  
"Yes. It is." She looks at me and seems to decide on something.  
  
"Would you... perhaps join me?" I can't help it. A devous smile creeps onto my face and I slide over to her. Kaede's disapproving gaze is on my back. She needn't worry. I won't do anything bad. I grab Sango's hands in my own.  
  
"Do you mean, Lady Sango, that you wish to be in my company?" Her cheeks flame, and she snatches her hands back. She begins stammering for a moment before regaining her composure enough to speak.  
  
"I- I meant I would like your help." Her cheeks lose their flush and she becomes solemn. "With killing Naraku."  
  
****  
  
Inu Yasha's POV  
  
Just lying next to her, knowing she is there and safe, is comforting. I really do like her to be near. I can hear her breathing softly and her heart beating slowly. I lie there, my arm around her, hoping that she will wake up soon- just as long as she doesn't kill me as soon as she does wake up. Every once in a while, she stirs a bit like she's having a nightmare. She keeps mumbling under her breath. I want to know what she's saying, but it's too low for even my ears to hear. Finally she speaks up enough for me to catch it, and what she says stops me in my tracks. Her voice is anguished.  
  
"He loves you Kikyo." That brings up a fresh tidal wave of thoughts ready to swamp me. Kikyo? Is she talking with Kikyo? How could she? Kikyo fell off of that cliff. Wait. Do I love kikyo? I know I did, once. But what about now? Kikyo is dead and I'm with Kagome now. I love them both! Wait! I love Kagome?! I push away from her gently and sit up. I need to figure this out. On the one hand, Kikyo- who I loved fifty years ago, might still be alive. But she was resurrected and given a new body, but her soul was still in Kagome. I thought that Kikyo's new body of gravesoil and bones had been destroyed by the fall from the cliff. But if I was wrong and Kikyo was still alive, how do I feel about her? On the other hand, Kagome- At first I had hated her for being like Kikyo. But after getting to know her, I realized that she was nothing like Kikyo. She was Kagome, who was always stubborn and angry at me for insulting her and... comparing her with Kikyo. She hated that. But she was so cute when she was mad. Where the heck did that come from? Did I actually love her?  
  
A sound broke me from my thoughts, and I jumped up, drawing tetsusaiga. The door was opening. I could feel a defensive growl rising in my chest. Then Keisuke walked in. He had obviously calmed down, as he was no longer half-transformed. He looked at me disgustedly. "Put that thing away before you poke someone's eye out." I sheathe tetsusaiga reluctantly, but keep my hand on its hilt. He rolls his eyes. "Why Mom wants to help you, I have no idea." I snort loudly. Who wants help from a freak like her. She'd kill me as well as help me. Keisuke glares at me, seeming to have heard my thoughts. I glare straight back at him. Who does this punk think he is? "Fine. Your little girlfriend can stay in a coma forever for all I care." He turns to leave. I dash in front of him.  
  
"What?" I growl. I'd hate to owe Suzuka anything more, but if she could help Kagome... Keisuke smiles smugly.  
  
"She wants to try and bring her out. She's not sure how much she can help, but she can try. But theres a one in twenty chance it'd drive your girl bonkers." He looked a bit concerned now that I was interested. "Usually it's about a one in sixty chance. It's even more dangerous for Suzuka. Not that you care." He went on, but I had stopped listening. Get Kagome out of her coma? Yes it would be dangerous, but who knows what could happen otherwise. Keisuke was still rambling on. My heart is pounding, but I look at Kagome and finally decide.  
  
"Do it."   
  
End Regrets Chapter 10  
  
A/n: Is it longer than usual? Review and I can try to get the next chapter out before the 22nd. that's when school starts, and I'l be a very busy little girl. Please review? 


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